Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal European Open Expert Tip: Match Closer Than Market Believes Between Two Strong Prospects

Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal (European Open): Wednesday, October 18th

For Wednesday, we’ll head look at the Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal match, which is actually taking place at the European Open for our ATP preview.

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In this article:

• Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal Expert Tip
• Arthur Fils Recent Form
• Mark Lajal Recent Form
• Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal H2H Stat of the Match
• Gamble Responsibly

Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal Expert Tip

This is another match that features far too large of a gulf in prices between the players for how quickly Antwerp plays.

If Lajal was a promising youngster that preferred clay courts, I could understand this pricing. The Estonian isn’t just solid on quicker courts though, he plays the style that should lead to success on faster surfaces and he’s far more comfortable in conditions like this.

I’m not making the case that he’s better than Fils, who is incredible in his own right, but simply that Lajal is far too talented to be this large of an underdog.

• Expert Tips: Over 21.5 Games at 1.90 with Unibet, using 3/10 stakes (1.95 with).
  Lajal to win at 3.75 with Bet365, using 1/10 stakes (4.14 with Pinnacle).

Odds as at 12:30 am UK Time on October 18th, 2023. Odds may now differ.

Read on for more expert insights.

Arthur Fils Recent Form

What an incredible season it’s been for Fils, who has broken out in a big way at the age of just 19. He made a pair of ATP 250 semifinals indoors in France early in the season and then won the Lyon ATP 250 event on clay prior to the French Open. A semifinal appearance at the ATP 500 in Hamburg in July really helped thrust him inside the world’s top-50 rankings-wise.

Much like fellow young gun who has shot up in the rankings this year in Ben Shelton, however, he’s had valleys to go with the peaks to his season, and of late, he’s struggled a tad for form.

He did manage to make a third-round run in Shanghai, but it’s worth keeping in mind that in those expanded Masters fields, the first round of action doesn’t have any of the seeds (the best players in the world) involved and prior to Shanghai, he’d won just one tour level match since Cincinnati qualifying and dropped another few at the exhibition Laver Cup, as well as the Davis Cup.

His game has plenty of power, he’s incredibly athletic, and his return game, while not the best around, is much better than many big servers at 19 years old.

The youth simply tend to have erratic spells and the long slog that is the ATP season does tend to catch up to youngsters who aren’t used to the 11-month grind playing the best week-in, week-out and I think we’re seeing that now with the Frenchman.

Mark Lajal Recent Form

Lajal may not have as much success at the main tour level as Fils has this season, but it’s still been a career year for the 20-year-old.

2023 began with him having to qualify for Challengers, yet still making runs to the quarterfinals and semifinals of those events, showcasing how much better he was than his ranking indicated.

Those runs culminated in his maiden title run at the Challenger level in Little Rock, Arkansas in the United States in June and with his win in the opening round in Antwerp, he should set a new career high ranking next on Monday.

Lajal also plays a very aggressive game – something he acknowledged in his interview after his opening round win – with a big serve and a desire to play front foot tennis, particularly in his service games.

His game is a bit more volatile, and he’s also experiencing a bit of a dip form wise late in the season, but with the points likely to be pretty short in this big-serving matchup on faster courts, I’m not too concerned with the volatility in his game as much as I would be on a slower surface where errors would be more likely outcomes.

Arthur Fils vs Mark Lajal H2H – Stat of the Match

This will be the first meeting between these two, and I think it’s certainly one worth tuning into.

Not only is it a chance to watch two very young talents go toe-to-toe, but there should be some scintillating shots made on court with the power each of these two possesses.

SAFER GAMBLING

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