ATP Marseille Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Feliciano Lopez 3/8/2021 Tennis Prediction

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez face off in a battle of the veterans at the 2021 Marseille Open ATP event in Marseille, France. The match is scheduled to take place on Monday March 8th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined. They have played each other five times over the course of their careers with Tsonga winning on each occasion.

Will Jo-Wilfried Tsonga extend that winning streak or can Lopez finally register his first win over the Frenchman?

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a former top 5 player that has had a terrible time over the past few years due to injuries. Now approaching the end of a fantastic career, it is nice to se him finally healthy and back on the court. Now ranked #66, a realistic target for him to reach is to break back into the top #40 in the world rankings and he will be hoping for a strong showing at home to kick-start his 2021 season. He made his return to the tour two weeks ago at the Open Sud de France and lost in the First Round to Sebastian Korda. He showed flashes of his former self but was obviously rusty due to the long layoff and he fell in straight sets to one of the top young players on tour today. He still possesses a big serve and forehand, and while he is not the player he once was he is still a dangerous opponent and cannot be taken lightly. 

Feliciano Lopez has had a great career and at 40 years of age does not seem to be slowing down. Like Tsonga, he is not the player he once was but shows flashes of brilliance on occasion, and has had some big wins in recent times. He still possesses one of the best lefty serves on tour and is incredibly hard to break. Now ranked #58, he will be hoping for a couple strong years left on tour and still seems highly motivated on court. He has had a decent start to the year, reaching the Third Round at the Australian Open and will be confident of getting the win here as he has much more match practice under his belt than his opponent. 

I expect this to be a fascinating match between two former top 15 players and it is incredible that we are still able to see them in action. While Tsonga is the younger player and has had a better career, I expect Feliciano Lopez to win this match. Tsonga has not played much tennis over the past few years and is still shaking off the rust. He will struggle to break Lopez’s serve and will likely lose this match in two close sets. If you are looking to maximize profits, at least one tiebreaker in the match seems a very likely outcome. Feliciano Lopez to win.