Roberto Carballes Baena vs Nikoloz Basilashvili Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Umag Open

Prediction published on 20/07/2025, 17:15  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 20/07/2025 at 18:15 in Tennis Predictions

Unseeded Nikoloz Basilashvili attempts to cause an upset in round one of the Croatia Open. He takes on the sixth seeded Roberto Carballes Baena in round one of this outdoor clay court tournament being staged in Umag. Here's our match prediction.

Basilashvili is playing Baena for the fourth time and has won all of the previous three. The only match played on clay was ten years ago and the most recent in 2021. Last week saw Basilashvili lose his second consecutive clay court match and third on all surfaces.

The former world number 16 is now 114th in the live rankings. Out of 17 clay court matches he's played this year, only eight have been won. Half of those wins came in the Bordeaux Challenger where he lost in the final.

Roberto Carballes Baena is at 85th in the live rankings and has a 6-7 record on clay in 2025. Last week saw the Spaniard lose in round two in Gstaad. Before that, he'd reached the last eight of the Braunschweig Challenger, so is starting to come alive on clay.

His best performance of the year has come on clay. He made it to the Marrakech semi-finals and needs to recapture that form.

We tip Baena to win this.