TennisSection previews the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters as Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) meets Aslan Karatsev in the Second Round on Tuesday April 13th, 2021.
A blockbuster Second Round match awaits us at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters event in Monaco. Fourth seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece will face Russian Aslan Karatsev in what is perhaps the pick of the matches this round. This match has the feeling of a late-round encounter as both men have been outstanding so far this season and it is a shame that they are meeting so early in the tournament. Will the Greek Star get the win here or can 2021 surprise package Karatsev continue his surprising form with yet another upset?
Stefanos Tsitsipas has had an outstanding and consistent start to the 2021 season, and has firmly established himself near the top of the ATP rankings. Now ranked #5 in the world, he is seeking his first title of the year after strong results at the Australian Open where he reached the Semi-Finals, and the Final in Acapulco. While most of his best results have come on hard courts, he is still competent on clay, reaching 3 ATP Finals on the surface and winning one title in Estoril in 2019. He has all of the tools to succeed here, with good movement despite his size and heavy groundstrokes. One area of concern is that he is yet to play a clay-court match so far in 2021, and that could be the difference here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters against a strong opponent in Aslan Karatsev.
Aslan Karatsev has taken the tennis world by storm in 2021, jumping almost 100 spots in the rankings since the start of the year. Now ranked a career-high #27 in the ATP world rankings, he truly has been outstanding this year, reaching the Semi-Finals at the Australian Open and winning his maiden title in Dubai. While he is also known as more of a hard court player, he has won multiple Challenger titles on the surface and is not to be taken lightly. He was very impressive in his First Round win here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters over Lorenzo Musetti, defeating the talented youngster in straight sets, which will have given him a huge confidence boost. While he enters this match as the underdog, it will not be a surprise to see him sneak the win here over Stefanos Tsitsipas with how his season has gone so far.
The two players are yet to face each other on the ATP Tour, and their head to head record stands at 0-0. One thing is for sure, this will be a very entertaining match between two very flashy baseline players and it is not a match that fans will want to miss. Aslan Karatsev has proven very hard to predict so far in 2021, entering the year as a relative unknown and sine causing multiple upsets. It is hard to look past Stefanos Tsitsipas to get the win here, but the fact that he is yet to play a clay court match this year throws some doubt into our minds, especially against a strong opponent. The top players are usually assured of a relatively easy opening match but this definitely is not the case here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters. All things considered, I am going with Stefanos Tsitsipas to win here. The Greek will likely get off to a slow start but I expect him to figure it out and come away with a very close win. Despite his success this year, Karatsev is still a bit of an unknown quantity, certainly capable of causing upsets. However, Tsitsipas has shown newfound mental fortitude this year and is unlikely to lose so early in a big event here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Stefanos Tsitspas to win
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