Thursday's Matches to Watch: Pouille v. Baghdatis; Cecchinato v. Munar

Montpellier Match of the Day

Lucas Pouille (FRA) vs. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)

Fresh off his semifinal run in Melbourne, it seems Lucas Pouille and new coach Amelie Mauresmo are tailor made for each other. While this match could easily be a blowout in favor of the Frenchman, let’s not forget how poorly Pouille finished the 2018 season. He recorded just two victories in 2018 after losing to Joao Sousa in the third round of the US Open. He began his 2019 campaign with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to 21-year-old Andrey Rublev.

You are lying if you say you expected the Frenchman to make the semifinals in Australia. That run came out of nowhere. And in the two meetings between he and Baghdatis, the light-hearted Cypriot has played Pouille well. Baghdatis has stolen a set in both their meetings. Will Pouille build on his momentum or will he crash back down to earth? The top seed should rout the aging Baghdatis, but far too often this past year the talented Frenchman has simply not shown up to play.

Cordoba Match of the Day

Marco Cecchinato (ITA) vs. Jaume Munar (ESP)

World No. 19 Marco Cecchinato will face fiery world No. 81 Jaume Munar, a product of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. It is rare to see an ATP Top 20 player with a subpar 29-49-career record like Cecchinato, but that’s what happens when you make the semifinals of a Grand Slam.

Both UTR data as well as Vegas oddsmakers favor the 21-year old darling Munar. Munar currently rates at 15.28 UTR with a three-month trending UTR of 15.12 while Cecchinato sits at 15.21 UTR with a three-month trending UTR of 15.02. The two have never played before and will certainly make for a tasty preview of the soon to come heavy-hitting clay-court season. This match is surely Munar’s best chance yet to secure his first ever ATP Top 20 victory.

ATP Cordoba: Mon - Sun, 2/4 - 2/10

Starting Monday, 2/4 at 1:30 p.m. ET, catch live coverage of the Cordoba Open featuring top seeds Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman.

ATP Montpellier: Tue - Sun, 2/5 - 2/10

Watch Lucas Pouille, Denis Shapovalov and Gilles Simon live on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Tuesday, 2/5 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

USTA Men's Pro Circuit – Dallas: Mon - Sun, 2/4 - 2/10

Tennis Channel Plus features live coverage of USTA Dallas matches beginning Monday, 2/4 12:00 p.m. ET

Fed Cup Quarterfinals: Sat - Sun, 2/9 - 2/10

Tennis Channel Plus is your home for Fed Cup action! Watch first to last ball action beginning at 7:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, 2/9