Jiri Lehecka vs Matteo Arnaldi Prediction & Betting Tips - Umag, Croatia

Prediction published on 28/07/2023, 04:34  by Nella Wagah in Tennis Predictions

Among the matches lined up at the Croatia Open on Friday, Jiri Lehecka Matteo Arnaldi meet in the quarterfinals. Top seed Lehecka has struggled on clay this season but will hope to hold his nerve to challenge for the title. The Czech number one has an 8-7 record on clay. This is the run of form that has characterized his season. He has won 27 of the 45 matches he’s played. His latest victory came in his tournament opener against former Croatia Open champion Dominic Thiem. He won the match in straight sets to start off his debut here. Lehecka won the only other time that he and Arnaldi were paired up against each other. This was on indoor hard court at the Next Gen finals last season. He is currently on a new career-high ranking of world number 33.

Seventh seed Matteo Arnaldi has dominated on clay this season and will hope to extend that form here. The Italian has won 22 of the 28 matches he has played on clay. Two of his three challenger titles have come on the surface. He has played two rounds already here and has won both without dropping a set. To advance to this round, he defeated qualifier Flavio Cobolli in what was his toughest encounter yet. The match lasted for one hour and 50 minutes and the second set required a tiebreak. Arnaldi is also making his debut in Umag and has won nine of the last 10 matches he has played on clay. He is up to 71st in the live ranking which is a new career high. The winner here will book a semifinal tie with either unseeded Alexei Popyrin or the wildcard Dino Prizmic.