Marrakech R1 previews and predictions: Zverev vs. Istomin, Paire vs. Bedene

The second day of the clay-court season features Alexander Zverev in Marrakech, where the top seed will go up against Denis Istomin. Tuesday’s schedule also includes a first-round showdown between Benoit Paire and Aljaz Bedene.

(1) Alexander Zverev vs. Denis Istomin

Zverev may be No. 3 in the world, but that is almost entirely thanks to a brilliant 2018 campaign in which he won the Nitto ATP Finals. The 21-year-old is just 8-4 in ATP tournaments this season and he is coming off early losses in Indian Wells (to Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round) and Miami (to David Ferrer in his opening match). On the bright side, Zverev is no slouch on clay. The top seed this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II, Zverev has captured four of his 10 career titles on the slow stuff–including Rome in 2017 and Madrid last year.

Up first for the German on Tuesday in Marrakech is Istomin, who trails the head-to-head series 1-0. Their only previous meeting came came four years ago in Cincinnati qualifying, with Zverev getting the job done 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Istomin is just 3-7 for the 2019 campaign and he has slipped outside the top 100 to 104th in the rankings. Adding insult to injury, the 32-year-old Uzbek has never been as good on clay as he is on hard courts or grass. This should be one-way traffic for Zverev as he starts getting his game back in gear.

Pick: Zverev in 2

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Aljaz Bedene vs. Benoit Paire

Bedene and Paire will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers (fifth at the ATP level) and for the second time at the Grand Prix Hassan II when they meet again on Tuesday. The head-to-head series is all tied up at 3-3, with Paire leading 3-1 on the main tour. They most recently faced each other early last season on the hard courts of Sydney, where the Frenchman prevailed 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. A 2013 second-round encounter at this same tournament (when it was in Casablanca instead of Marrakech) went Paire’s way 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision. But they also collided on clay in the final of the 2017 Sophia Antipolis Challenger, where Bedene dominated 6-2, 6-2.

Paire, of course, can be all over the map; so far this season it has been almost all bad. The world No. 69 is 4-9 on the main tour following immediate exits from Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami. He reached the final of a clay-court Challenger in Marbella but then lost right away in Sophia Antipolis to world No. 207 Roberto Marcora. Bedene is a decent 6-5 at the ATP level with solid results on clay–a quarterfinal performance in Cordoba and semifinal showing in Rio de Janeiro. This should be every bit as competitive as the ranking suggest (Bedene is 68th), but Paire cannot be trusted on any given day; Bedene is the far more reliable performer despite not being as naturally talented.

Pick: Bedene in 3

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