Alex De Minaur vs Lloyd Harris Prediction & Betting Tips - Madrid, Spain

Prediction published on 03/05/2021, 15:34  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 03/05/2021 at 17:33 in Tennis Predictions

Two players in their early 20s battle it out in the second round of the Madrid Open. Alex de Minaur is ranked 24th in the world but faces a tough match against world number 55 Lloyd Harris. The Australian began this year well winning a tournament in Antalya, Turkey. He hasn't been able to follow that up though and hasn't got past the last sixteen of a tournament since. He has reached three clay court finals in the past but all were at a lower level. This is the first time he's made it past the first round of the Madrid Open but he had a tough time doing so. He lost the first set to Jaume Munar but recovered to get a win. An important win as he'd lost five of his previous six matches. 

His opponent has risen 35 places in the world rankings this year. That's been mainly achieved by his getting to Dubai Tennis Championship final, where he lost to Aslan Karatsev. He's been a bit of a giantkiller this year and defeated both Denis Shapovalov and world number three Dominic Thiem in that tournament. The first round of this tournament saw him beat Grigor Dimitrov (seeded 13th) in a three-setter. That keeps up his 100% record against top 20 ranked players this year. His clay record before this tournament wasn't so stunning with two wins from eight before this event. That win over Dimitrov shows he can win on clay against top players. He's meeting de Minaur for only the second time, the previous meeting saw him beat the Australian on a hard court surface. He's in form this year and that can't quite be said about his opponent. Go for a Harris win here and a side bet on this going to three sets.