Shakes off Davis Cup frustration in Metz?
A remarkably strong field of participants has emerged at the comparatively small Moselle Open 2022. The indoor hard court tournament in Metz in north-eastern France has attracted big names like Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Dominic Thiem or even Holger Rune. Besides Oscar Otte, the only German in the main draw of the 24th men’s singles, numerous Frenchmen want to prove themselves – among them also Grégoire Barrère.
Both players will fight in the first round on Wednesday for a place in the last 16, where Adrian Mannarino could be the first opponent from the seeded list. A well-balanced first round match is to be expected. In the run-up to the match between Grégoire Barrère and Oscar Otte, balanced odds are available.
Although the German player has the significantly higher ranking and the better singles record. However, Oscar Otte not only lost all three singles in the Davis Cup Finals just last week. The Cologne player is also down 1-2 in the direct comparison with Grégoire Barrère.
Of course, the German’s victory is not out of the question. By far the most eventualities – including a two-set win for the Cologne player – can be covered by betting on Grégoire Barrère against Oscar Otte to win a maximum of twelve games (U12.5).
Grégoire Barrère – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 167
Seeded List Position: Qualifier
The 28-year-old Frenchman Grégoire Barrère is definitely considered a late starter in the tennis scene. He had no notable successes in his junior career before only playing his first professional match on the ATP Tour at the age of 22, when he received a wild card at the French Open 2016.
However, the man from Charenton-le-Pont, who still mainly competes in the ITF or on the Challenger Tour, did not record any really resounding successes. In the twelve Grand Slam tournaments he has played so far, he has only won a total of six.
First ever twelve singles wins on the ATP Tour
In general, Barrère has only 42 rated singles on the ATP Tour, of which he has won just twelve matches. In 2022, he even has only three singles to his name, all of which date back to May.
First, he lost his opening match against Ugo Humbert 0:2 in Lyon, before he eliminated Taro Daniel 3:2 at the French Open and then lost to John Isner 1:3. On the Challenger Tour, however, the 28-year-old reached three finals in 2022, all of which he lost in Quimper, Aix-en-Provence and Pozoblanco.
Two strong wins in qualifying
In Metz, however, the number 167 in the ATP world rankings got off to a really good start. In the qualifier, Grégoire Barrère first beat the Austrian Jurij Rodionov 2:1 before even beating the favoured Márton Fucsovics 2:0.
Accordingly, it is not out of the question that the 28-year-old will be in the main draw of the Moselle Open for only his second singles victory on the ATP Tour in the calendar year 2022.
Oscar Otte – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 52
Position in the seedings: unseeded
The 29-year-old German Oscar Otte is currently experiencing a remarkable upswing in the golden autumn of his career. The Cologne native, who has been a professional tennis player since 2011 and for many years also only played on the ITF World Tennis Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour, made his breakthrough almost exactly a year ago.
At the US Open 2021, the Cologne native surprisingly reached the round of 16 in only his fifth Grand Slam tournament ever and thus made a big leap in the rankings, which he was able to build on in 2022.
Recently dropped out of the Top 50 again
For a short time, Oscar Otte was even in the top 40 of the ATP world rankings in 2022, which was also due to the fact that he made it into the main draw at all four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time. But because his last stop was in round one at the US Open, which cost him the points he had earned last year, he has now slipped out of the top 50 again.
All the more reason for the 29-year-old to aim for a good run in Metz, where his standing was still good enough to automatically earn him a starting spot in the main draw. So unlike Grégoire Barrère, the German will play his first match at the Arènes de Metz on Wednesday.
Not won a singles match in three months
However, the Cologne native is not exactly going into the opening match with a lot of tailwind. He did have the honour of representing Germany in the Davis Cup last week, where he played the second singles in all three matches, which Germany won 2-1. However, it was not thanks to him that Germany reached the quarter-finals, as Otte lost all three singles.
The 29-year-old has thus been waiting for another singles win since the Wimbledon Championships. Against this background, the possibility of Grégoire Barrère losing his opening match against Oscar Otte must also be covered in the betting.
Grégoire Barrère – Oscar Otte Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 2:1
It is true that both athletes will face each other for the first time in a rated singles match on the ATP Tour on Wednesday. However, they know each other very well, at least from small Challenger and Futures tournaments. There have been three encounters in which Grégoire Barrère has twice prevailed – including in 2018 in St. Brieuc, France, in the only match to date on indoor hard court.
Grégoire Barrère – Oscar Otte Tip
When it comes to Grégoire Barrère against Oscar Otte, the prediction has to take into account that the German has not won a singles match for almost three months and conceded three defeats in three matches in the Davis Cup last week. Although the Frenchman is more than 100 places lower in the ATP world rankings, he not only celebrated two victories against strong opponents in the qualifying for the Moselle Open, but also leads the “head to head” comparison against Otte with 2:1.
Our prediction therefore easily goes to the Frenchman. But to cover most eventualities – including a possible 2:0 win by the German – we bet on the Cologne player winning a maximum of twelve games.
