Matteo Berrettini is back, and he'll keep his comeback season going at the Marrakech Open, where he'll face Alexander Shevchenko.
The Italian has been away from tennis for a while, but he's back, and it's great to have him back. This will be his third event since his comeback and his first on clay in a long time. The Italian is a fair player on clay, even though he does better on grass and hard courts. His skill set doesn't translate as well on clay, but he's grown up on the surface and can do pretty well.
His opponent is fairly similar. He tends to do pretty well on clay but prefers other surfaces as well. It's an interesting matchup for Berrettini, who needs matches. His Miami Open run didn't go as well as he had hoped, and he had a minor health scare at the event. Let's see how this one might go.
Berrettini and Shevchenko have played once before, and the Kazakhstani player actually won that match. It was at last year's Phoenix Challenger, but there are some things important to note about that match. It was the first event for Berrettini after an injury, so he wasn't in the best of shape.
He still managed to make it interesting as the match lasted three sets, which I expect of this one as well. Clay is an interesting wrinkle in the matchup.
| Matteo Berrettini | Alexander Shevchenko | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 142 | Rank | 58 |
| 27 | Age | 23 |
| 0-1 | 2024 W/L | 9-10 |
| 156-76 | Career W/L | 25-30 |
Shevchenko seems more likely to win simply because I don't know what to expect from Berrettini on clay. He played only 8 matches on it in the past two years, which is really not a lot, and generally, his best clay event over the years was the Madrid Open, which plays quickly.
Prediction: Alexander Shevchenko to win in three sets.