The first day of action at the 2021 Nitto ATP World Tour Finals sees the first group of singles and doubles getting underway when the tournament takes place in Turin for the first time after a lengthy run in London.
We have to wait until Monday to see the number one seed in the singles but we get to see the leading lights from the doubles on the first day. As ever in this tournament we have a doubles followed by a singles match in the afternoon and evening sessions.
Afternoon Session
Nikola Mektic & Mate Pavic vs Kevin Krawietz & Horia Tecau
The action begins in the Green Group of the doubles draw when the number one seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic start their quest to add the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals title to their Wimbledon, Olympic and countless other tournament wins this year. They take on the last pair into the field in Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau, both of whom have been at this event with different partners in the past.
On paper the Croatians look a standout favourite here but they have lost three of their last four matches, which when you consider how dominant they have been this year is something of a surprise. Krawietz and Tecau aren’t in much better form it has to be said so this should be a win for the Olympic champions but these two pairs have met twice in 2021 and three of the four sets they have played went to a tiebreak, which suggests there might not be much in this and the fine margins could settle it. I still fancy Mektic and Pavic but form and those two previous meetings is enough to sway me out of a bet.
Daniil Medvedev vs Hubert Hurkacz
It is the Red Group on show in the singles draw on Sunday and that means the highest seed in action is Daniil Medvedev. The defending champion begins his title defence against the debutant Hubert Hurkacz, who has won in Miami this season and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Medvedev nearly took down the Paris Masters title last week, losing to Novak Djokovic in the final and he’ll be looking to get up and running with a win here. He has had his issues with the Pole this year though. Both of their career meetings have come in 2021 and have gone the distance with Hurkacz beating Medvedev in the Wimbledon last 16 before Medvedev got his revenge in the Toronto quarter final when he came from a set down to win a couple of tiebreaks against the Polish player. There is talk that this court is playing faster than expected and quicker than the one in Paris and that might see the trend of these two playing out tight contests continue. Over 21.5 games looks a solid punt here when you consider how tight meetings have been between these two men.
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Evening Session
Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos vs Ivan Dodig & Filip Polasek
The second doubles match of the day sees a latino pairing who are regular partners in Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos meeting the Australian Open winning pair of Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek who are actually no longer a partnership but have chosen to team up for one last dance having qualified for this event.
I’m big fans of the Spanish/Argentine pairing and wouldn’t be at all surprised if they win this match. If there was a little more juice in their price then I might well have pulled the trigger on them to win here but I’m interested in the dynamic of the European pairing. They have gone their separate ways so it will be interesting to see if they are together as a pair because if they are not then they are going to have their work cut out here. I expect Granollers and Zeballos to win this but there isn’t quite enough in their price to merit backing them.
Alexander Zverev vs Matteo Berrettini
The final match of an exciting opening day sees the home man beginning his campaign to end the season with a title in front of his own fans as Matteo Berrettini takes on the Olympic singles champion Alexander Zverev in a true heavyweight contest.
Zverev arrives here in excellent form having won in Vienna recently as well as putting in a decent enough display in Paris. Berrettini hasn’t been at quite those levels in recent times but on a quick court like this is expected to be he is entitled to be a threat to anyone and with this tournament in his home country he certainly isn’t going to back for motivation. I’m expecting another tight tussle here because two men who are going to dominate on serve. Their last meeting went the distance and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this one does as well. Over 22.5 games looks the way to go here.
Tips
Back D.Medvedev vs H.Hurkacz – Over 21.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back A.Zverev vs M.Berrettini – Over 22.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Coral
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