The final of the Rothesay International takes place at Devonshire Park on Saturday when the ATP Eastbourne tournament draws to a close with two American players playing for the title when Maxime Cressy meets Taylor Fritz.
Cressy will go in search of a first ATP Tour title here while Fritz is looking for a second trophy of the season after winning in Indian Wells. He is also looking to win this tournament for the second time having hoisted the trophy in 2019.
Maxime Cressy
I don’t think too many would have had Maxime Cressy as one of their finalists when the tournament began but the firm and fast courts in a hot week in Sussex have suited his serve and volley style perfectly and he has taken full advantage of that. He has been the scourge of British players this week having beaten three of them in the last three rounds, going to a deciding set in the last of them when he overcame Jack Draper in the semi-final.
What I’ve liked about Cressy this week, apart from his style which is very fluent on the eye given that there is a dearth of genuine serve and volley players these days, is the calm and composed nature he has displayed all week. There have been times where his matches have got competitive but he has never deviated from a relaxed disposition and that has served him well because a couple of his opponents have lost their head against him and lost the match soon after.
Taylor Fritz
After a slow start to the week where he was literally finding his feet in the tournament, Taylor Fritz has shown some of the form which saw him win the title at Indian Wells earlier in the year the longer the competition has gone on. We know he can play on grass from when he won this title three years ago and now he has set up the chance to land the crown for a second time and head into Wimbledon with the ultimate confidence boost.
Fritz has a big serve which often serves him well on this surface but he has enough variety in his game to be awkward to play against as well. He can also rebound from adversity too as he showed in his semi-final when he threw the second set away before recovering to win the decider. Fritz also has experience of playing in big finals and you wonder if that will be the defining feature of this match when we look back on it afterwards.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Head-to-head
There is nothing we can gleam from the head-to-head record between the two because despite representing the same country and having similar games which you would think would mean they enter the same tournaments, this is the first time they have ever met. The only thing we can say between the two is Fritz has a huge experience advantage in finals over his countryman.
Betting
I think it is wise to expect a large number of games in this final. In the two semi-finals these two played half of the sets went to a tiebreak which shows how dominant on serve they are and I expect that to be the case in this final as well. What might also help both to dominate behind their serve in this match is the fact they are meeting for the first time so it will naturally take a little while for the other to get any sort of read and play on the opposing opening delivery.
It is no surprise that the game line for this match is on the high side at 24.5 but I certainly think it can still be covered. Even a straight sets match that goes to two tiebreaks covers this and I definitely don’t expect many service breaks so any three set match will almost definitely cover this line. I would imagine the experience of Fritz and the fact he’s the better overall player of the two will get him home but in a match which could be decided on breakers I’d rather back the over in games than the winner.
Tips
Back Over 24.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
