TennisSection previews the 2021 Marseille Open as Daniil Medvedev (1) meets Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the Final on Sunday, March 14 2021.
Will Daniil Medvedev continue to cruise through the draw here in Marseille to win one of the easiest titles in his career? Will Pierre-Hugues Herbert put up enough of a fight to potentially cause the upset and win an ATP Tour title on home soil? We are in for a very exciting matchup here and only one player can come out on top as the Champion. Who will it be?
Daniil Medvedev has been in cruise control all throughout the tournament, winning all of his matches in straight sets and not losing more than 4 games in a single set. In his last match, Medvedev met Matthew Ebden and won in straight sets 6-4/3-0 due to Ebden having to retire in the second set due to injury. Medvedev, even without an injured Ebden, would have crushed him in that match, and it is great to see him playing with this form again. Daniil will have to still be wary of his next opponent here, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, as he is a very excited, determined, and talented player who can hurt anyone if they underestimate him. Medvedev has been determined all tournament, and I would be shocked if he takes his foot off the gas here in the Final. Will Daniil Medvedev lift his first trophy of 2021 at the Marseille Open?
Pierre-Hugues Herbert has also been playing some great tennis here, beating all of his opponents coming into the match as the underdog. Herbert beat Kei Nishikori, Cameron Norrie, the two-time defending Champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, and most recently the very exciting and talented youngster Ugo Humbert. Herbert beat Humbert in two easy sets 6-3/6-2. What has really aided Herbert at the Marseille Open is that he has found the correct rhythm on his second serve which he usually does not have. Herbert has so much experience on the tennis court, mainly through his great success in Doubles, but this means he can see the court in different ways than others. Can Pierre-Hugues Herbert continue his incredible run of form and cause what would be yet another shocking upset by him this week to win a Single’s ATP Tour title on home soil?
This is going to be the fourth meeting between Daniil Medvedev and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert leading the head to head 2-1. They have met here before, in 2015, in the qualifying rounds where Herbert won in straight sets. Since then, on the main ATP Tour, they have split their encounters 1-1, with Herbert winning their encounter on the clay, and Medvedev winning their encounter in indoor hard court, the same conditions as these. They always have tight matches when they meet, and this is due to their contrasting styles meaning that neither one of them can afford to relax during a rally as they never know what is going to happen next. This will be a tight match, and both players can win this one if on top of their game.
When push comes to shove, I think that Medvedev has the best return game in the tennis world outside of Novak Djokovic, and this will end up wearing down the Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Daniil Medvedev will win the title here in Marseille on Sunday.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win.
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