Marrakech Final: Carballes Baena vs Muller Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 Marrakech Grand Prix II final match featuring Roberto Carballes Baena vs Alexandre Muller on Sunday, April 9, 2023.

Carballes Baena vs Muller Match Preview

The two unseeded players, Roberto Carballes Baena and Alexandre Muller, will contest the Marrakech Grand Prix Hassan II final on Sunday. Who will walk away with the title from the ostentatious Moroccan city?

Roberto Carballes Baena has one ATP title to his name, the Ecuador Open in Quito, which he won in 2018. Now 30, Carballes Baena will have another try to bag his second title having not appeared in any Tour-level final since, and only making one semifinal after that in Bastad in 2021. So it might just be worth the wait. He took out Dan Evans in three sets in the semifinals, and frankly, Carballes Baena has toughened up big time this week at the Marrakech Grand Prix II, needing to scale the substantial challenges of Maxime Cressy and Tallon Griekspoor too. Let’s see if he can get over the line when he plays Alexandre Muller.

Before this year, Alexandre Muller had won one main draw match on the ATP Tour. He was in fine fettle on the Challenger Tour last season, winning 33 matches and clinching a maiden title at that level in Blois. He has since built on that, making a great run to the last eight in Doha and now an odds-defying walk into his first ATP final at the Marrakech Grand Prix Hassan II. Among his notable victories this week, he’s beaten Richard Gasquet and Lorenzo Musetti. And he’s guaranteed a top-100 breakthrough regardless of Sunday’s result.

Carballes Baena vs Muller Prediction and Pick

Roberto Carballes Baena leads Alexandre Muller 1-0 in their head-to-head. Baena defeated the Frenchman at Roland Garros in 2019 in straight sets. On paper, the Spaniard seems to have passed some tough tests this week, with the win over Tallon Griekspoor the most impressive of the lot. Carballes Baena will look to use his experience and clay-court prowess to get him to the finish line on Sunday. We know Alexandre Muller is not very much of a risk-taker, and he’ll take comfort in dueling from the baseline all afternoon. That means Carballes Baena will need to come out all guns blazing and look to be the aggressor. I feel the Spaniard will be rewarded if he can go for his shots, in the same manner, he hurt Dan Evans in the semis. And that second title which has been five years in the making is likely to come at the Marrakech Grand Prix.