Parma 2021: Richard Gasquet vs Pedro Martinez preview, head-to-head & prediction | Emilia-Romagna Open

Match details

Fixture: (5) Richard Gasquet vs (Q) Pedro Martinez

Date: 26 May 2021

Tournament: Emilia-Romagna Open 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Parma, Italy

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €480,000

Match timing: Not before 12 pm local time, 10 am GMT, 6 am EST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Richard Gasquet vs Pedro Martinez preview

Richard Gasquet opened his 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open campaign with a resounding straight-sets win over Daniel Altmaier. The Frenchman now faces Pedro Martinez in the last 16 on Wednesday.

Gasquet made a poor start to the claycourt swing but showed flashes of his best tennis during a quarterfinal run in Lyon last week. The Frenchman will be keen to build on that display by making a deep run in Parma.

Pedro Martinez

Pedro Martinez's breakthrough on the ATP Tour came at last year's French Open, where he made it to the third round after coming through qualifying. The Spaniard followed that up with a third-round showing at the Australian Open at the start of the year.

Martinez hasn't had the most successful of claycourt seasons and he will hope to get some confidence under his belt with strong performances in Parma.

Richard Gasquet vs Pedro Martinez head-to-head

Gasquet will be eyeing a second straight quarterfinal on clay.

This will be the first career meeting between Richard Gasquet and Pedro Martinez, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Richard Gasquet vs Pedro Martinez prediction

Richard Gasquet is the favorite on paper. While the Frenchman has struggled to produce his best tennis in recent months, the quarterfinal run at his home event last week would have given him some much-needed confidence.

Some Day 3 results from #EmiliaRomagnaOpen 👊🇮🇹 Cecchinato d. Brancaccio 🇮🇹🇺🇸 Korda d. Seppi 🇮🇹🇮🇹 Musetti d. Mager 🇮🇹🇯🇵 Nishioka d. Querrey 🇺🇸🇸🇰 Gombos d. Ruusuvuori 🇫🇮🇫🇷 Gasquet d. Altmaier 🇩🇪

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 25, 2021

Gasquet will definitely look to be the aggressor on Wednesday, but Martinez could well pose a few challenges for the fifth seed with his consistent baseline game.

Gasquet will need to take the initiative early in the match to avoid giving his opponent any time to settle. Martinez enjoys playing in slower conditions and will have the edge the longer the match progresses.

Prediction: Pedro Martinez to win in three sets.