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The opening day of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships will feature a total of eight matches across singles and doubles. Five singles fixtures will take place and three doubles matches will also be played.
Fifth seed Alex Michelsen will be the highest-ranked singles player in action as he will be up against compatriot Learner Tien. A few American players will be in action, including Jenson Brooksby, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Frances Tiafoe, who will play his doubles fixture.
On that note, here is a look at the predictions for some of the matches that will take place on the opening day of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.
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#1. Frances Tiafoe / Michael Mmoh vs Robert Galloway / Jackson Withrow
Frances Tiafoe and Michael Mmoh will face top seeds Robert Galloway and Jackson Withdrow in the opening round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and whoever wins, will face the Brazilian duo of Rafael Matos and Marcelo Zormann in the quarterfinals.
Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow will team up for the first time in 2025 but both players have had a fair amount of doubles action previously this year, even though neither have tasted any success. On the other hand, both Frances Tiafoe and Michael Mmoh will have their first taste of doubles action.
Given the extra experience, there is a very good chance of Galloway and Withrow winning and reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.
Predicted Winner: Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow
#2. Aleksandar Kovacevic vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Aleksandar Kovacevic will face seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. The two will face off for the very first time and whoever wins, will take on either Brandon Holt or French qualifier Corentin Denolly in the second round of the ATP 250 event.
Kovacevic has won four out of eight main-draw matches so far in the 2025 season but has not won a single fixture apart from his runner-up performance at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier. Etcheverry, on the other hand, has won seven out of 16 matches so far this year, most notably reaching the quarterfinals of the Chile Open in Santiago.
Etcheverry will enter the match as the favorite to win given his higher-ranking and if he can play at his best, he should be able to come out on top and reach the second round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.
Predicted Winner: Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
#3. Cristian Garin vs Alexander Ritschard
Cristian Garin will face Alexander Ritschard in the first round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. The two will lock horns for the very first time and whoever wins the fixture, will face top seed Tommy Paul in the second round of the tournament in Houston.
Garin is entering the ATP 250 event after a semifinal exit at a Challenger tournament while Ritschard last played at the Miami Open, where he exited in the qualifiers. The Chilean has won three main-draw matches so far in 2025 while the Swiss is yet to win one.
While Garin is ranked lower than Ritschard, he will enter the match as the favorite to win given his higher amount of experience on the ATP Tour. Hence, there is a good chance of the Chilean coming out on top.
Predicted Winner: Cristian Garin.
