Montpellier, France – Second-seeded Tomas Machac is favored to defeat Arthur Gea in the Round of 16 of the Open Sud de France on Wednesday, February 4. The match, taking place at the Sud de France Arena, pits the world No. 28 Machac against Gea, currently ranked No. 168.
BetMGM Sportsbook lists Machac as a -220 favorite, implying a 68.8% probability of victory for the Czech player. Gea is the underdog at +170.
Machac enters the tournament with a 20-12 record on hard courts over the past 12 months, having secured two tournament wins. He won 79.5% of his service games and 27.7% of his return games on hard courts in that same period. Machac also converted 45.5% of his break points, ranking 30th in that category. His most recent tournament, the Australian Open, saw him eliminated in the Round of 32 after a five-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti on January 23.
Gea advanced to the Round of 16 in an unusual manner, as his opponent Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard retired mid-match due to an eye injury while Gea was serving for the first set at 5-3.
Over the last 12 months, Gea has a 6-2 record on hard courts, winning 80.8% of his service games and 30.1% of his return games. He has converted 36.8% of his break points, successfully converting 25 of 68 opportunities. Gea was previously defeated by Stan Wawrinka in the Round of 64 of the Australian Open on January 22.
According to BetMGM, Machac has +600 odds to win the tournament, while Gea is a longer shot at +1600.
This will be the first career meeting between Machac and Gea.
