The remaining opening round matches along with three of the second round encounters at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters will be played on Tuesday, April 8. Get the best predictions and tips for the day from ATP Monte-Carlo Masters 2025.
Alexander Zverev v Matteo Berrettini
Between 2018 and 2023, these two players faced off six times and Alexander Zverev won four of those encounters. Berrettini’s victories came in Rome in 2019 and at the 2023 Wimbledon but overall on clay, Zverev leads 2-1.
That, coupled with the fact that Zverev has been struggling for form since his Australian Open final appearance and coming off some solid play this season, could imply we are looking at a tough battle for a place in the third round.
Berrettini did not face any problems getting past Mariano Navone in his opener, defeating his opponent 6-4, 6-4. The Miami Masters quarterfinalist this year, Berrettini had a stunning run on clay last year, winning 15 of the 16 matches he played on it which included three titles – which meant that six of his 10 career titles have come on the red dirt.
At his best, Zverev would have been the clear favourite but at the moment, it’s tough to call a winner given what’s gone around.
Zverev v Berrettini Tip: Games Handicap Berrettini +3.5: 8/15
Stefanos Tsitsipas v Jordan Thompson
Stefanos Tsitsipas has never faced off against Jordan Thompson on clay but leads an overall head to head against him 3-1. His wins have come at Wimbledon (twice) and Australian Open while Thompson shocked him at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters.
A three-time winner at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Tsitsipas has had a modest time on court this season. For a few weeks it looked like things were going worse than he could have imagined but a title win in Dubai and a fourth round appearance at Indian Wells meant he enters this tournament with a 11-6 win-loss record for the season.
Thompson is ranked 38th in the world and while he had begin the clay court swing with a first round loss at the hands of Ethan Quinn in Houston last week, he has done better here. Not much of a clay-courter, Thompson upset Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two straightforward sets to enter the second round.
Interestingly, this is Thompson’s second appearance in this tournament with his previous one having come in 2021. There he had been knocked out in the second round and given the difference in these two players’ clay court skillsets it looks like the same could follow.
Tsitsipas v Thompson Tip: Tsitsipas to win in straight sets: 1/2
Jack Draper v Marcos Giron
World number six Jack Draper has a 2-0 head to head record against Marcos Giron, his 45th-ranked opponent in this second round match. Those wins have come in a hardcourt competition (Australian Open 2024) and on grass (Stuttgart 2024) and the big question now is whether Draper can convert that start into a third win on clay.
While Draper starts off with a 13-3 win-loss record for the season which includes a title win in Indian Wells where he had sent Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune to clinch the tournament, things are different on clay for him.
Like he has featured in this tournament twice before this and won just one round. Last year, Draper played seven matches on clay and won just five matches. And it doesn’t get any better when one rolls the years back.
This is not to say that Marcos Giron likes it on clay any more than Draper. His previous two appearances have both resulted in first round losses and last year, he won just three rounds from eight clay competitions.
This evens the battle out a tad especially on a slow Monte-Carlo court where the serve gets largely negated. As a result we could see a tough battle and one that might even go to a third set.
Draper v Giron Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/5
Other Houston Open 2025 Predictions for the Day
- Nicolas Jarry v Grigor Dimitrov: Dimitrov to win: 1/3
- Holger Rune v Nuno Borges: Rune to win: 2/5
- Lorenzo Sonego v Pedro Martinez: Martinez to win a set – Yes: 4/6
- Dusan Lajovic v Flavio Cobolli: Lajovic to win: 11/10
- Tallon Griekspoor v Arthur Fils: Fils to win: 8/15
- Alexei Popyrin v Ugo Humbert: Humbert to win: 4/6
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry v Corentin Moutet: Etcheverry to win: 13/19
- Frances Tiafoe v Miomir Kecmanovic: Tiafoe to win a set – Yes: 8/11
- Roberto Bautista Agut v Brandon Nakashima: Bautista Agut to win: 5/4
- Tomas Machac v Sebastian Baez: Three sets in the match: 6/5
