Champion!

Medjedovic won the Naples Challenger, a good omen for the rest of the clay-court season.

At first glance you wouldn’t think clay is ideal for Medjedovic, but the Serb is actually good on it. He likes to grind and slides very well for his size, he has above‑average understanding of the surface and has already pulled off some big results on it! This Challenger title marks his comeback after an injury in Rotterdam. When we saw the draw in Marrakech, we immediately thought about his recovery and the fact that he’s not exactly a physical beast, but he only starts on Wednesday and is coming in from Naples, so I’m fairly confident saying he’ll be ready and in good shape! With the confidence that comes with that, things could go very well this week, especially since the conditions are perfect for his serve and his power. His power is the big factor in the matchup against Kopriva: the Czech is very good and smart, but he can get overpowered in terms of speed when facing big hitters.

Medjedovic gave him a spanking in their only meeting in 2023. I’m not saying it’ll be the same this time, but he still has the weapons to get through, and Kopriva not so much. What you really have to watch is how the match develops: Medjedovic pretty clearly shows signs when he’s tired or when he’s about to throw away a set before starting to play properly again. The ideal scenario would be to take a pre‑match bet on the Serb, then cash out if he wins the first set and goes well ahead! In any case, that’s my main idea, because even though I rate Kopriva, I think he’s missing several things against this type of player.