Maximilian Marterer vs Christopher O'Connell Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Dubai Open

Prediction published on 25/02/2024, 15:45  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 25/02/2024 at 16:45 in Tennis Predictions

Maximilian Marterer had a tough time qualifying for the main draw of the Dubai Tennis Championships. He takes on unseeded Christopher O'Connell for a place in round two of this outdoor hard court tournament. Waiting in the next round will be either the third seed Hubert Hurkacz or unseeded Jan-Lennard Struff. Marterer had to play two matches to get into the main draw and was seeded seventh in the qualifiers. He took on the second seed Luis van Assche in the final qualifier and had to go to three sets to get the win after losing the first set. Those two wins have taken him up to 108th in the ATP Race and 96th in the live list. Last week saw him lose in the last 32 in Doha. He actually lost twice in that tournament as the German was reinstated as a Lucky Loser only to lose in round one. He's yet to win a match in the main draw of an ATP Tour event this year.

Christopher O'Connell is 68th in the live rankings. The Australian has reached one quarter final this year and did so in his homeland. That was in Adelaide where he beat Arthur Rinderknech and Alexander Shevchenko before losing to Sebastian Korda. Last week saw him beat sixth seed (and possible second round opponent Jan-Lennard Struff) in Doha but then lose to Emil Ruusuvouri in straight sets. The win over Struff was a good one and we tip him to beat Marterer.