TENNIS: We preview two quarter finals on Friday in the ATP Temuco Challenger with recommended BETDAQ bets ..
Nick Hardt v Nicolas Mejia – Friday 17:20
Nick Hardt and Nicolas Mejia will lock horns in the quarter-finals of the Temuco Challenger on Friday afternoon. It’s the second meeting between the two opponents, with the Colombian Mejia winning in three sets in their only other contest in 2019. This will however be the duo’s first meeting on the hard surface.
The Dominican Nick Hardt, ranked 218 in the world, reached the quarter-finals after beating Nicolas Bruna in two sets and Alafia Ayeni in three, hitting an impressive 36 winners in the latter contest. He’s an aggressive player and makes use of the quick hard courts well, and has a 13-5 win-loss record on the surface in 2022.
Meanwhile, his opponent Nicolas Mejia is yet to drop a set this tournament, beating Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-3 6-1 and Benjamin Lock 6-4 6-3 in the previous rounds. Ranked 300 in the world, he will be considered the underdog for Friday’s contest, though he too possesses a favourable 12-11 win-loss record on hard surfaces this year.
The Colombian’s serve will be key here – he recorded only two double faults in his previous round and stacked up an impressive 74% first serve win percentage. If he stays strong on his first serve, then his price to beat Hardt at 2.28 looks appealing.
Nick Hardt v Nicolas Mejia markets
Marton Fucsovics v Stefano Travaglia – Friday 18:30
The first seed Marton Fuscovics takes on the Italian Stefano Travaglia in our other game on Friday evening. Hungarian Fuscovic finds himself in good nick after despatching Briton Ryan Peniston 7-6 6-7 6-3 in the previous round, and is justifying his pre-tournament favourite tag.
Ranked number 98 in the world, Fuscovics has an impressive 13-5 on hard courts this year, including getting to the final in the Bratislava Challenger, and has recorded over 30 winners in both of his tournament games so far. He did look a little ropey on his serve in his opening match against Arthur Fils though, losing his serve three times and having to save nine break points against the heavily unfavoured Frenchman.
Stefano Travaglia could therefore make inroads if he takes advantage of the Hungarian’s uncertainty on his serve. The Italian is yet to drop a set this tournament and has already knocked out the sixth seed Elias Ymer in the opening round, so definitely carries a threat to the tournament favourite. Despite this, there is certainly a gulf in quality between Fuscovics and the world number 332, so the number one seed to coast through at 1.3 is the selection for this one.
Marton Fucsovics v Stefano Travaglia markets
