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Nicolas Moreno De Alboran vs Federico Arnaboldi: Bad Waltersdorf Challenger – First round
American Nicolas Moreno De Alboran will take on Federico Arnaboldi in the opening round of the Bad Waltersdorf Challenger.
Nicolas Moreno De Alboran Profile
Nicolas Moreno De Alboran is 156th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 121. The American is 34-30 for the season and 21-17 on clay.
Alboran is coming off a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss to Vit Kopriva in the opening round of the Challenger in Szczencin, which was his fifth consecutive loss.
Alboran reached two semifinals this season in Liberec and Brasov.
Federico Arnaboldi Profile
Federico Arnaboldi is 232nd in the ATP rankings, one spot lower than his career high. The Italian is 39-20 for the season with all the matches being played on clay.
Arnaboldi is coming off a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Francisco Coria in the round of 16 of the Challenger in Szczencin.
This season he won the title at the Challenger in Verona and lost in the final in Modena to Albert Ramos.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first match between Nicolas Moreno De Alboran vs Federico Arnaboldi.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both players are struggling to establish themselves at the ATP level and are still stuck in the Challengers. Alboran had a promising season last year but has failed to make a step forward this year. Arnaboldi is three years younger and hopes to get among the top 200 players very soon. Recently, he won the tournament in Verona, losing only one set on his way to the title. He plays only on clay courts, so he will adapt well to the conditions in Bad Waltersdorf. Given the odds, Alboran is the favorite to win this one, but given the fact that he has not won a match for over a month, we go with Arnaboldi to cover the +2.5-game spread.