Novak Djokovic vs Martin Klizan Tennis Prediction
Novak Djokovic leads the H2H 4-0, but this will be their first meeting on clay. Though Djokovic did not drop a set in those recent three meetings, Martin Klizan, on clay, cannot be taken for granted, especially considering Novak’s current form.
Novak Djokovic News
Novak Djokovic returns to Barcelona after a 12-year gap in an attempt to regain form and confidence before the French Open which starts in a couple of weeks.
The last time Djokovic played here (2006), he was just 18 years old and was ranked #178 in the world. Lacking experience at this level, the Serbian lost his first round match to Daniel Gimeno Traver in three sets.
Novak Djokovic’s most recent appearance in an ATP 500 event came at Acapulco in 2017, where he was drawn against the same opponent, Martin Klizan, in the opening round. The former World #1 won two matches before losing to Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinal.
Novak Djokovic snapped his three-match losing run and produced some encouraging performances at the Monte Carlo Masters last week. However, losing the round of 16 match to the opponent (Dominic Thiem), who was beaten 6-0 6-2 by Rafael Nadal in the following day (QF) shows how much he has fallen behind in the recent months, especially on clay.
Martin Klizan News
Entering ATP Barcelona after a two-year gap, Martin Klizan defeated Federico Delbonis on Monday to maintain his 100% record in the first round of this event. It was his third win of the week, having previously defeated Uladzimir Ignatik and Ernesto Escobedo in the qualifying stages.
The Slovakian made the semifinal here in his most recent appearance (2015) and had also won two of his previous three second-round matches here at Barcelona, with the only defeat (R2) coming against Nicolas Almagro in 2014.
While Djokovic has won only six matches in 2018, Martin Klizan has already hit the 20 match-win mark, thanks to some fine results in the Challenger circuits, such as winning the Indian Wells Challenger and reaching the semifinal at Alicante Challenger. Try our tennis prediction for today: Djokovic vs Klizan at Barcelona ATP Tennis Predictions.
Tennis Prediction: Djokovic 2-0 SET
Odds: 1.63
