Day 1 Barcelona Predictions | Thebigtip

The ATP World Tour moves to Spain this week with the Barcelona Open taking place. Can Rafa claim his sixth title at one of his favourite tournaments after win number seven last week in Monte Carlo? Here are the Day 1 selections with tennis betting guru Mark Skendaris aka TennisMan.

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Marcel Granollers (ESP) (1.28) v Daniel Brands (GER) (3.70)

An easy victory looks on the cards here for Granollers. The lanky Spaniard is a solid player on clay and has improved his game in recent times to be a player not to be taken lightly. Brands has had a sluggish start to the season and he will be found out early by the world No. 52 in this one. Granollers in two sets.

[12] Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) (1.40) vs Denis Istomin (UZB) (2.95)

Hard to go past GGL in this match-up. The stylish Spaniard prefers the faster paced courts but still plays well on the dirt. Istomin is not a great mover on clay and Garcia-Lopez should enter round two with relative ease. The Spaniard won their only previous encounter in 2010.

Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) (4.00) vs [11] Albert Montanes (ESP) (1.25)

Another Spaniard to cruise into round two here. Montanes is one of the best dirt-ballers in the world and Gabashvili should pose no threat in this one. The plucky Montanes always performs well at home and has coasted past the up-and-down Russian in their two previous meetings.

[16] [WC] Juan Monaco (ARG) (1.37) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) (3.10)

Both guys have underperformed so far this year but Monaco should get the win here. The gutsy Argentine hasn’t been at this best for a while but he has enough experience to get past Dimitrov. The impressive Bulgarian is still unknown on this surface and Monaco looks a bad match-up for him first up. The Argentine to battle into the second round.

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) (2.40) vs [WC] Albert Ramos (ESP) (1.57)

I like Ramirez Hidalgo here in what should be a three set slug-fest. The lefty Ramos played well in Houston and looks a decent prospect for the future, but Ramirez Hidalgo is a true battler and can eke out one win here in Barca. The 33-year-old leads their head-to-head 2-1, not surprisingly all on clay.

Santiago Giraldo (COL) (2.10) vs [13] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) (1.73)

The two South Americans do battle here in a tough match to call. Bellucci has more class, but Giraldo is a nudger and grinder who can unsettle the sometimes erratic Brazilian. If Bellucci keeps his head he will win. If not, the Columbian will be all over him like a rash and I sense that may be the case. Giraldo to take win number four against the lefty.

[Q] Benoit Paire (FRA) (1.37) vs [WC] Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) (3.10)

Paire is your stock-standard Frenchman. He is flashy, exciting and full of energy. Carreno-Busta is only 19 and ranked a lowly 314. He must have some quality with a discretionary wildcard awarded to him and this will be his ATP World Tour debut. Paire won their previous encounter last year in straights at Challenger level and another similar result looks likely. The Frenchman to win, but not at this price.