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Mixed martial arts Friday Tennis Best Bet: ATP French Open, Fabio Fognini vs Sebastian Ofner
Fabio Fognini vs Sebastian Ofner Best Bet: Friday, June 2nd
Aslan Karatsev led by a set and a break … and lost. Is anyone surprised at this point? It happens several times a week with these previews. Would be nice to get a few going the other way, but I’m now convinced that simply isn’t going to happen.
We wrap up the week looking ahead to some third-round action from Paris, as the singles draw will be whittled down to 16 men and 16 women between Friday and Saturday.
Let’s take a look at the contest that pits Fabio Fognini against Sebastian Ofner.
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Fabio Fognini vs Sebastian Ofner Preview
June 2nd, 12:45 (UK Time)
What a lovely pair of events for the 36-year-old Fognini. Long plagued by inconsistencies and being in his own way from a mental perspective on court, the father of three appears to be engaged on court now knowing his time on the professional circuit may be nearing its end.
He’s hinted at his age in post-match interviews in both Rome and Paris, but his play has been incredible after hurting himself in Portugal earlier in the clay swing.
His shotmaking has always been exquisite, he can take the ball early, come to net, has incredible feel on his drop-shot and isn’t intimidated by big power, as he has nice, compact groundstrokes. The backhand in particular can counterpunch powerful shots well, as Fognini squares the ball up and re-directs it down the line so efficiently.
That’ll be key against Ofner, who has a big serve, a powerful forehand and can hit both of them with decent weight of shot.
Outside of that though, his game is fairly limited. He doesn’t move particularly well, his backhand is prone to bouts of inconsistency and there isn’t a whole lot of variety to his game.
I like the veteran to keep chugging through this draw that has opened up for him in a way.
Fabio Fognini vs Sebastian Ofner Best Bet
Ofner’s overvaluation here primarily comes from the fact that he’s built up a nice record this year. That can’t be taken away from him, but a lot of that has come at the Challenger Tour level.
Taking on a player of Fognini’s talent is a big ask. Especially considering his first two main draw wins came against Maxime Cressy (one of the worst clay courters in the top-100) and Sebastian Korda (whose groundstrokes still didn’t look back up to their normal level in what was his fourth match back from injury).
Finally, the primary concern for Fognini in a third-round match for me would be the fact he’s had to play two best-of-five sets matches already.
He’s alleviated those concerns by winning both his opening matches in straight sets and limiting his time on the court.
- Selection: Fognini to win
- Best Odds: 1.77 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes: 3/10
Odds as at 1:00 am UK Time on June 2nd, 2023. Odds may now differ.
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