🎾 ATP Marrakech: Kotov vs Bellucci – Match Preview

🎾 ATP Marrakech: Kotov vs Bellucci – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🟨 Pavel Kotov

• 🏆 Marrakech specialist: Semifinalist here in both 2023 and 2024—clearly at home on these courts.
• 🎾 Balanced clay game: Big serve and heavy groundstrokes support his 123–81 clay record.
• 🔥 Moderate form: 5–9 in 2025, but recent matches have been competitive against solid opponents.
• ✅ H2H lead: Beat Bellucci 6–4, 6–3 in Phoenix last year.

🟥 Mattia Bellucci

• 📈 Rising Italian: Cracked the top 75 with strong indoor wins over top names like Tsitsipas and Medvedev.
• 💥 Streaky form: 8–10 in 2025, and just 2–7 on clay this season—struggling to find rhythm on dirt.
• 🌋 Clay inconsistency: Lost to Tseng and Kovacevic recently in early-round clay matches.
• 🇲🇦 Marrakech debut: First time testing his game in these conditions.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Kotov’s record in Marrakech isn’t a fluke. He enjoys the slower conditions, adapts his game well, and has proven that he can navigate tough matches on this surface. His ability to mix defense with aggressive baseline play makes him a tough opponent for anyone, especially someone still adjusting to clay like Bellucci.

Bellucci’s power and topspin can be dangerous, but his results show a lack of patience and discipline in longer clay rallies. Unless he rediscovers his indoor form on a completely different surface, this is a challenging matchup for him.

If Kotov controls the tempo and stays consistent with his serve and return depth, he’ll be able to frustrate the Italian and force errors over time.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Kotov in 3 sets

Bellucci might steal a set with a purple patch of form, but Kotov’s comfort, experience, and tactical edge in Marrakech should prevail in the end.