Ramos-Vinolas ripe for Barcelona upset

ATP Barcelona Open
Sky Sports 4, 10am Wednesday

Albert Ramos-Vinolas demonstrated just what a potent clay-court player he can be when he reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters last week and many will be backing him to go far once again in Barcelona.

However, that tournament is sure to have left its mark both mentally and physically, and in Casper Ruud he faces a player who is becoming increasingly adept on the surface.

The Norwegian youngster was superb in Rio in February, reaching the semi-finals only to find Pablo Carenno-Busta that little bit too strong, and he clearly brings plenty of potential.

He breezed through qualifying for this competition and it could well be that an upset is on the cards, particularly as he has had a much easier run than his opponent.

In the same tournament, Jan-Lennard Struff plays Roberto Bautista-Agut, who will be hoping for a good performance in his home country.

The Spaniard clearly deserves to be favourite, but Struff must have a chance of making him work judging by his recent form. The German overcame Grigor Dimitrov in Monte Carlo before only just losing out to the bang in-form Diego Schwartzman and that run suggests he could make his presence felt.

Over in Stuttgart, Maria Sharapova makes her eagerly-awaited return to the court for the first time in over a year. However, she’s likely to be rusty and could find Roberta Vinci too hot to handle.

Recommendations
Casper Ruud
1pt 10-3 Betfair
Roberta Vinci
1pt 9-4 general