Defending champ David Ferrer set for clay masterclass

Start Monday

ATP Swedish Open
David Ferrer claimed his third singles crown in Bastad last year and the defending champion could be worth one more punt in the Swedish Open to show his younger rivals how it's done.

Spanish legend Ferrer had few superiors on clay in his pomp and while he has lost some of his pace at 36, age did not stop him from going all the way in the coastal resort last year when he was a 14-1 shot.

That price alone tells you how much bookmakers still respect him and being only one of three Spanish seeds in Sweden this year, he could go close again.

Pablo Carreno Busta and Fernando Verdasco are the other Iberian peninsula seeds, but second seed Carreno Busta often needs time to settle on clay while Verdasco's record at going all the way on the slow red terrain is not as good as Ferrer's.

Roberto Carballes Baena, an unseeded Spaniard, could make life tough for top seed Diego Schwartzman should they meet in round two, Fabio Fognini does not always look 100 per cent interested in every tournament he plays while dual Hamburg champion Leonardo Mayer could have one eye on the Rothenbaum event next week.

Recommendation
D Ferrer
1pt each-way 12-1 general

ATP Croatia Open
Reports early last night suggested provisional top seed Kyle Edmund had withdrawn from Umag and fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas moved to the top of the draw.

The host nation's top players are missing the tournament and Croatia are represented by wild-cards Nino Serdarusic and Franco Skugor, who may have spent Sunday night at World Cup final parties.

Second seed Damir Dzumhur collected his third main-tour title in Antalya last month, fourth seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev is returning from an injury break and Ramos-Vinolas has not been at his best but is still worthy of respect in this field.

However, the most interesting contender could be third seed Marco Cecchinato, who produced a magnificent effort to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

The Italian is the type of ebulliant performer who could get the Croatian crowd on his side and a title such as this would be a due reward for his Roland Garros heroics.

Recommendation
M Cecchinato
1pt 13-2 bet365

ATP Hall of Fame Open
This year's grass-court finale on Rhode Island has an open look to it with a host of players looking for a rankings boost.

Adrian Mannarino tops the bill with last month's Eastbourne champion Mischa Zverev seeded second. The French number one seed can be considered, but at the prices others make more appeal.

Gilles Muller and Marcos Baghdatis, Ivo Karlovic and Alex de Minaur, and Ryan Harrison and Nicolas Mahut, who all clash in round one, could be title contenders, as could Matt Ebden, Steve Johnson and Vasek Pospisil.

But with Muller slightly below his best, it could pay to chance Karlovic, the finest server in the field who has showed in recent weeks that he still packs a punch.

De Minaur is unlikely to be easy to beat but if Karlovic finds a way past the Aussie the draw could open up for the Croat.

Recommendation
I Karlovic
1pt 10-1 Betfred

WTA Gstaad Championship
Viktoriya Golubic bids to make it two Gstaad wins in three years, but the Swiss and top seeds Alize Cornet and Johanna Larsson could find themselves up against it in the Alps this week.

In the top half of the draw there's a repeat of the 2010 French Open final with Francesca Schiavone taking on Sam Stosur, but preference is for a couple of bets in the lower half.

Anna Kalinskaya has shown enough to suggest the Russian will be winning main-tour titles before long, while it could also pay to persevere with Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, who should be comfort­able on the slow red terrain.

Recommendations
A Kalinskaya
1pt 18-1 Coral
S Sorribes Tormo
1pt 25-1 bet365

WTA Bucharest Open
Irina-Camelia Begu is seeded third for her Bucharest title defence, but the Romanian tournament could be all about Mihaela Buzarnescu.

The second seed has been in decent form and while others would normally be of interest in an event such as this, the title could be Buzarnescu's for the taking.

Anna Schmiedlova, Bogota champion in April, could lift more silverware in 2018, but the slow red clay may not play to veteran Vera Zvonareva's strengths. How­ever, bookmakers may be right to have Buzarnescu favourite ahead of top seed Anastasija Sevastova.

Recommendation
M Buzarnescu
1pt 4-1 bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

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