tennis | Friday, April 28, 2023 7:18 AM

Friday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Madrid, Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Jon Reid

Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka Best Bet: Friday, April 28th

Well Filip Krajinovic did, in fact, fade in the latter stages of the match against Chris O’Connell, but he won the second set before losing in three, rather than the first.

Onto Friday, where we’ll wrap up the week of previews on the men’s side by taking a deeper dive into the contest between Alex Molcan and Yoshihito Nishioka.

In this article:

Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka Preview
Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka Best Bet

Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka Preview

April 28th, 10:00 (UK Time)

This contest should be a fun one between a pair of incredibly consistent left-handed baseliners.

The market gives Molcan the nod as the favourite and I tend to agree here, but don’t think he’s being priced as enough of a favourite in this position.

While there isn’t much between them in game style, the form and the surface greatly favour the Slovakian in this one.

Not only did Molcan look strong in his opening match in Madrid, but clay is his preferred surface, and his form extends back to last week, when Molcan made the semifinal in Banja Luka, Bosnia.

Then there’s the fact that Nishioka hasn’t played a whole lot of late, and has only won a single match since February – and that was against David Goffin, who was returning from injury in his own right.

Throw in the fact that the Japanese No. 1 is more of a clay courter, despite his consistency-based game, and I have Molcan closer to the 1.45-1.50 price range than 1.63.

Alex Molcan vs Yoshihito Nishioka Best Bet

I’m happy to back Molcan, who finally appears to be building form and is playing on his favourite surface.

The altitude doesn’t necessarily benefit him all that much, but luckily for him, he’s playing someone whose serve can’t really take advantage of the thinner air either.