ATP Barcelona Open predictions, odds and tennis betting tips
Where to watch
Live on Amazon Prime from 10am Monday
Best bet
Jannik Sinner
1pt 4-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
ATP Barcelona Open preview
Carlos Alcaraz headlines a star-studded field in Barcelona as the Spanish teenage sensation bids to successfully defend his crown on home soil.
The world number two should benefit from a two-week break having skipped the recent Monte Carlo Masters to focus solely on rewarding his passionate home faithful.
Alcaraz has won five of his eight career titles on clay and this slower surface certainly enhances his winning prospects, but there is little value in him at odds-on given Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Cameron Norrie are also in the line-up.
Alcaraz and last year’s French Open runner-up Ruud are on course to meet in what would be a blockbuster semi-final so there could be some sense in focusing on the bottom half of the draw.
With Greek star Tsitsipas struggling to find his best form, impressive Italian Sinner merits strong consideration.
Sinner has been holding his form well all season and, having made the semi-final at the Indian Wells Masters and finished runner-up in Miami, the 21-year-old kickstarted his clay-court campaign with a run to the last four at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
The world number eight bumped into Holger Rune in the semi-final there but his early draw looks much sweeter in Barcelona.
Sinner’s possible route could include Norrie in the quarter-final and Tsitsipas in the semi-final but neither appears in good enough nick to live with the Italian.
Even a potential title decider with Alcaraz would be no routine task for the Spaniard, especially given they are tied at 3-3 in their head-to-head and Sinner prevailed in their most recent encounter in Miami.
There is also a competitive event taking place on the WTA Tour in Stuttgart as world number one Iga Swiatek bids to get back on the winning trail.
The Polish superstar, however, has not been seen in competitive action since exiting the Indian Wells Masters in the middle of March and she faces strong opposition from Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia and Barbora Krejcikova.
