ATP Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Betting Odds, Tips and Preview

In form Nadal out to regain Madrid title

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal © GEPA pictures

ATP Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Betting Info
One of the big clay court tournaments outside of the French Open swings into action on May 6th from the Magic Box in the Spanish capital. This is an important warn up for the French open and there has been a big change in the way the event looks. That is because Madrid has gone blue, switching up the traditional red court for the rather unorthodox blue, the kind of colour you see on hard court surfaces. There is no great reasoning behind this other than a yellow ball is easier to see against the blue background, and it is actually a good enough reason because that is why the Australian and US Opens are held on blue surfaces. It is now over to the players to see if it actually plays any different to the red clay. Both Rafael Nadal and Samantha Stosur seem to both think that the moves was a mistake. This is because blue clay is manufactured differently to red clay, so it is essentially a new surface.

ATP Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Betting Defending Champion
World number one Novak Djokovic is the man who is returning to Madrid as the defending champion. The Serbian claims that the best clay court title of his career came here last year, when he out-played Rafael Nadal in the final. It was an incredible turn around last season when Djokovic was getting the better of Nadal on clay, but clay of course is Nadal’s surface. Djokovic’s triumph over Nadal last season here snapped a 37 unbeaten streak on clay Djokovic already has two titles under his belt for the season, winning the Australian Open and in Miami. As the season gears up towards the French Open, Djokovic last stepped out at Monte Carlo a couple of weeks ago, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. So are the tables turning back towards the Spaniard? Djokovic is second favourite at 7/4 with SkyBet.

ATP Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Betting Favourite
They may be, because Rafael Nadal starts as favourite at Evens with SkyBet. Nadal has been given a bit of an advantage as well, because Andy Murray pulled out ahead of the tournament with a back injury, which means that Nadal gets to avoid another big four player until the final. That should put him in good stead, as well as the back to back wins on clay already this season. Nadal triumphed easily in Monte Carlo over Novak Djokovic, and then followed it up with a win in Barcelona after taking out David Ferrer in the final. So it has been a a good month for Nadal, who, once again has come to life for the season on clay. Yes, the clay may be new at Madrid this year, but Nadal has to go in as favourite because of his form. The Spaniard has won the Madrid Open twice before in 2005 and 2010 and holds a 24/7 record at the event.

Other Contenders
Roger Federer steps out onto clay for the first time this season in Madrid, and like Nadal and Djokovic, is a previous winner of the tournament. The Swiss superstar landed the title the first time it was switched over to clay, back in 2009. Federer has been in solid form, right from the start of the season, and he rattled off three back to back titles, in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells to set his season alight. He didn’t get going in Miami though, crashing out in the round of 32 to Andy Roddick. Still, he should be well rested and while clay isn’t his best surface, he reached the final of the French Open last season with some wonderful technical play and should be a threat here. He will be on course though to meet Novak Djokovic in the semi final, which will likely be the set-up to face Nadal in the final.

Spaniard David Ferrer has to be considered as a strong contender as he has three titles under his belt for the season and two of them have come on clay. He also got to the final of Barcelona, where he faced Nadal again, but again he was shot down by the former world number one. So he will make a decent outside shot. He is in the same quarter of the draw as Roger Federer, which means that he will likely have to go through the Swiss man, as well as Novak Djokovic at the semi final stage. So a tough run here, but like Nadal, Ferrer is a clay court specialist and worth considering. Great player, great tenacity and able to grind opponents down. Excellent on clay.

Because Rafael Nadal looks to have the second half of the draw to himself, it may just be worth dipping into his half of the draw (especially in the quarter which he is not in) just to pick out an outside contender. From there the most obvious contender is Jo Wilfried-Tsonga who goes off as fourth seed for the event. He bombed badly at the BMW Open in Munich recently, when he should have been one of the front runners. He crashed out in the first round there and so needs a bounce back performance Other names like John Isner and Alexandr Dolgopolov are floating around in Tsonga’s quarter.

Best Outside Bet: As it generally is, it will be Juan Martin Del Potro. The Argentine has a decent shot here because he is in the easiest quarter of the entire draw. Wouldn’t be too surprised to see him have a good run at the semi finals here, but unfortunately for him, Rafael Nadal would be waiting in that semi final. But with his heavy hitting and recent decent form this season, Del Potro is capable of winning the quarter he is in.

Latest ATP Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Betting Prices at Bet365
Nadal Evens, Djokovic 7/4, Federer 13/2, Del Potro 14/1, Ferrer 25/1, Berdych 33/1, Isner 50/1

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