Tennis Tuesday: Abrams picks 2 matches at the Croatia Open – Moutet vs. Caruso, Fabbiano vs. Travaglia

Plava Laguna Croatia Open

Umag, Croatia

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

First Round picks

Corentin Moutet over Salvatore Caruso

Now that Wimbledon is over there are a few Masters 250 ATP Tournaments that are going on around the globe. None of them are terribly interesting because the best players are just beat from playing two weeks of best-of-five sets on grass. But just because the tournaments are thin it doesn’t mean that there aren’t always a couple of interesting matches to bet. The first here in Croatia is this interesting match between the 18-year-old Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Italian journeyman Salvatore Caruso. Moutet has shown that he can play with the big boys both at the French and in London, and I think that it’s just a matter of time before the world’s tennis fans get to know this kid. He’s good and getting better, and this match over Caruso should simply be another small stepping stone for the talented teenager.

Thomas Fabbiano over Stefano Travaglia

Before Wimbledon Fabbiano was one of the lower ranked players who had a head of steam in terms of momentum. He had raised his game the last bit of May and the month of June, and depending on his draw, I thought he had a chance of winning a couple of rounds in The Championships, and win he did. He started out his fortnight with a fabulous win over 7th seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 in the fifth before he took out 40-year-old serving giant Dr. Ivo 6-4 in the fifth. After those two matches his luck ran out as he ran into a very hot Fernando Verdasco and went down in three tough, close sets. Here, he opens against compatriot Stefano Travaglia, who I think Fabbiano should take down, as long as he can make the quick transition from grass to clay.