Madrid Open 2024: Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (11) Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone

Date: April 26, 2024

Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open

Round: Second Round (Round of 64)

Venue: La Caja Majica, Madrid, Spain

Category: Masters 1000

Surface: Clay

Prize Money: €7,877,020

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+

Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone preview

After a first-round bye, 11th seed Holger Rune will duke it out against Mariano Navone in the second round of the 2024 Madrid Open on Friday.

Rune started the season with a runner-up finish at the Brisbane International. However, that didn't translate to a deep run at the Australian Open, as he was bundled out in the second round.

Rune's results continued to alternate between good and bad over the next few weeks. He reached the semifinals of the Open Sud de France and the Mexican Open but lost in the second round of the Rotterdam Open in between.

Rune advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev. He was knocked out by Fabian Marozsan in the second round of the Miami Open.

Rune, a runner-up at last year's Monte-Carlo Masters, could only make it to the last eight this time. He headed to Munich to defend his title at the BMW Open. His title defence, though, concluded with a crushing 6-2, 6-0 loss to Jan-Lennard Struff in the semifinals.

Navone, meanwhile, took on Alexei Popyrin in the first round here. The pair traded service breaks to start the match but remained on even footing for most of the first set after that.

Navone eventually gained the upper hand, bagging the last three games of the set to clinch it. He dictated play in the second set, breaking Popyrin twice en route a 7-5, 6-2 win.

Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone head-to-head

This will be the first career encounter between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0.

Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Holger Rune	-250	+1.5 (-700)	Over 21.5 (-120)
Mariano Navone	+190	-1.5 (+400)	Under 21.5 (-115)

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone prediction

Once Navone nabbed a close first set against Popyrin, he ran away with the rest of the match. This was his debut at the Masters 1000 level, and he made quite an impression with his victory.

Navone's star has risen quickly this season. He has only competed in claycourt tournaments at the ATP level all year. He was a finalist at the Rio Open in February and at last week's Romania Open.

Rune has made a pretty decent start to his clay swing, but there's room for improvement. He was completely outplayed by Struff in the semifinals of the BMW Open. While Navone employs a different brand of tennis, he has the potential to trouble the Dane with his style of play as well.

Rune has established himself as one of the most capable players on clay, and Navone has started to do the same this year. The Dane's results and ranking make him the favorite in this match-up, but given his inconsistency this year another early exit wouldn't be out of the blue.

Pick: Holger Rune to win in three sets

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Rohit