Lucas Pouille - Valentin Vacherot predictions and free betting tips [06/01/2024]

In Nonthaburi, at a Challenger Series (75) tournament, the final is about to take place. Two tennis players who qualified for the main draw of the Thailand competition will take part. Lucas Pouille will face Valentin Vacherot. These players can be regarded as compatriots, because the Principality of Monaco and France are almost always associated with each other.

Lucas Pouille

We haven't seen really quality tennis from Pouille on a tournament distance for a long time, where he could vie for a trophy. The Frenchman hasn't won anything since 2019 and is barely noticeable even in lower-tier events.

Last season, Lucas played on major occasions, and specifically in Nonthaburi, he got to participate in two consecutive competitions. Perhaps, Pouille was best seen at the French Open, where he passed the qualification and even beat Jurij Rodionov in the 1st round of the main draw, although he then lost to Cameron Norrie.

The Frenchman has 10 trophies, half of which were won at "main" competitions, at his prime when Pouille could take 3 prestigious titles in one of the seasons. Currently, the Frenchman is far from those times and is ranked 329th in the ATP ranking.

In Nonthaburi, Lucas had unchallenging matches, the only potential difficulty could be against Chen Chen from Taiwan, but Pouille carried out this qualification encounter flawlessly. Surprisingly, Lucas is having a strong performance in this Challenger, so, all that's left is to beat the Monegasque Valentin Vacherot on class again. I think this game will not hamper the Frenchman, who got his momentum at the beginning of the year, from taking the title after 5 years.

Valentin Vacherot

In 2022, the Monegasque won his only Challenger Series tournament right here in Nonthaburi. Vacherot's other victories are related exclusively to futures, where he still travels as a top 300 ATP ranking tennis player. By the way, if Valentin manages to win the trophy in Thailand, he will break his personal record for position in the table, passing the 250 mark, which for him specifically - would be a great success.

Last season, Vacherot won two clay ITF tournaments, made it to the semi-finals of the "clay" Challenger Prague(5) and on hard in Temuco. Given his overall performance, such results are above average for the Monegasque, but obviously, they didn't significantly impact his ATP ranking. The guy is determined to improve his tennis, as he's 25 years old and at this age, one can easily reach a new level of mastery.

In Nonthaburi, Valentin had a tough draw, starting with qualification, but he conducted almost all games on a "5" level. Even though there were three sets against Francesco Passaro, according to the statistics, Vacherot performed well and didn't fall short of the Italian in terms of gameplay. There was also a hard match versus Loren Lokoli, but in this case as well, Valentin found a way to beat the French tennis player in two sets.

Lucas Pouille is in good shape and it's difficult to oppose him, nevertheless, Vacherot showed throughout the Challenger in Nonthaburi that he could easily be a contender for the competition title in Thailand. The Monegasque's serve has been good in this tournament - he successfully attacks both from the backhand and the forehand, sometimes conducting knowledgeable combinations.

Match prediction: Lucas Pouille - Valentin Vacherot

It's doubtful that Pouille will win easily again, especially when Vacherot, with his good first serve and an excellent game from the baseline shown in all matches of this tournament, will be acting against him. One might place a bet on the total over 21.5 games in the match, possibly, this final will go in three sets.