This play falls along the same lines as the play of Kubler to defeat Stakhovsky. Taro Daniel did look as though he needed a set and a half to adjust to the conditions in round 1 against Cid, running away with the match 6-2 6-1 in the second and third sets. Daniel was one of the form players at Challenger level in the back end of 2020, however I am more interested in his match-up style causing concern for Maximilian Marterer today, just like it did in Hamburg a couple of months ago.
I got caught out a couple of times watching Marterer last year, as he has not been able to find the form that saw him reach the Top 50 in the middle of 2018. He hasn’t appeared to find the confidence in his game again, and was on the brink of being eliminated by Trungelliti in the first round. If he had trouble with Marco, he is likely to have a torrid time with Daniel.
Daniel isn’t going to give this one away, Marterer will need to earn it. In these conditions though I cannot justify him as a favourite though, so I will be backing Daniel to win for a unit.
Suggested Bet
1 unit Daniel to defeat Marterer at $2.20 (+120) at Bet365