Published on 04/01/2025 12:14
by Léo Measson
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Modified on 04/01/2025
has 12:29
In
Tennis Predictions
The round of 16 of the Auckland tournament is about to start this Sunday evening! On the program, this meeting between the 22-year-old Italian player Luciano Darderi and the 27-year-old Portuguese Nuno Borges. This will only be the second confrontation between these two players but already a favorite emerges from this meeting. Indeed, Nuno Borges showed his qualities on the circuit last season by winning at the ATP in Bastad (clay), his first career title in an ATP tournament. This was his second tournament won after the Phoenix Challenger in the United States. To start this new season, Nuno Borges was able to win in Hong Kong in the first round against the Chinese Yunchaokete Bu in 3 sets. In the second round, he failed against the Spaniard Jaume Munar (6-3, 7-5). The Portuguese progressed on hard court last year, winning 20 matches and losing 15. This is 5 fewer victories than in 2023, but for the same number of defeats.
For his part, Luciano Darderi is in a negative spiral at the moment and ended the 2023-2024 season with a series of 4 consecutive defeats on hard court. In Hong Kong, he also failed to win and was knocked out in the first round. The hard surface is really not the Italian's cup of tea, who has lost 13 out of 15 matches in 2024. Clay remains his favorite playing field.
