ATP Barcelona 3rd Round Predictions: Gulbis and Raonic to clash, in-form Robredo plays Berdych

1. Milos Raonic v Ernests Gulbis

Milos Raonic

From the eight third round matches in Barcelona, I am most intrigued by the match-up between Ernests Gulbis and Milos Raonic, which has not even made the Pista Central schedule.  Gulbis has continued his excellent form of late with two straight set wins over Radek Stepanek and Fernando Verdasco.  Raonic was superb in Barcelona last year as he beat Nicolas Almagro and Andy Murray on his way to the final; he started his 2013 campaign in fine form with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Edouard Roger-Vasselin.  

Raonic and Gulbis have met twice before and Raonic prevailed in both those encounters in straight sets, including a win on the clay in 2011 at the Monte-Carlo Masters.  Gulbis is playing much, much better than when they last played, but I had a good feeling about Raonic when I saw the draw for Barcelona and I fancy him to beat Gulbis.

Prediction - Raonic to beat Gulbis in 2 very tight sets

2. Tomas Berdych v Tommy Robredo

Tomas Berdych had a narrow escape in Barcelona on Tuesday as he saved a match point in defeating Nikolay Davydenko, 3-6 7-5 6-4.  I have read that Berdych is struggling with a shoulder injury, but his battling qualities are certainly something we are more used to seeing these days.  He similarly saved match points in an enthralling win over Alejandro Falla in Miami last month.  Berdych now faces the in-form and unbeaten-in-seven-matches, Tommy Robredo.  The Spaniard had a mightily impressive win over Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5 6-1.  Berdych leads Robredo in their head-to-head by 4 wins to 3, but they haven't played since 2010.  This match will depend on Robredo's nerve as I think he will get into the winning position; it will be whether he can finish off Berdych, unlike Davydenko.

Prediction - Robredo to beat Berdych in 3 sets

3. Benoit Paire v Rafael Nadal

It was a routine start to Barcelona for Rafael Nadal, who eased past Carlos Berlocq, 6-4 6-2 in his opening match today.  His next match will be against the flashy, Benoit Paire, who overcame Pablo Andujar in a crazy three setter, 6-4 5-7 6-3.  I believe that Paire was 0-4 down in the first set and was in a leading position in the second set before being pushed the distance by the Spaniard.  Nadal and Paire have never played before, but on the clay it is obviously going to be a very difficult match for Paire...

Prediction - Nadal to beat Paire in 2 sets

Best of the rest: Barcelona 3rd Round Predictions

Thomasz Bellucci to beat Dmitry Tursunov in 3 sets

Phillipp Kohlschreiber to beat Martin Klizan in 3 sets

Nicolas Almagro to beat Marcel Granollers in 2 tight sets

Juan Monaco to beat Jeremy Chardy in 2 sets

Kei Nishikori to beat Albert Ramos in 2 sets

ATP Barcelona 2nd Round Predictions: Dimitrov-Robredo, Tomic-Monaco, Ramos-Janowicz

Today in Barcelona, Ernests Gulbis continued his excellent form of late with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory over Fernando Verdasco, who is rapidly speeding the wrong way down the rankings.  Tomas Berdych avoided another early upset as he saved a match point in a 3-6 7-5 6-4 victory over Nikolay Davydenko.  In Stuttgart, Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova set up an enticing second rounder, meanwhile Sabine Lisicki also won through in straight sets, defeating Nastassya Burnett, 6-3 6-4.  Tomorrow, the remainder of first round matches take to the court in Stuttgart and the second round will wrap up in Barcelona...

1. Grigor Dimitrov v Tommy Robredo

Grigor Dimitrov

Two players who have already enjoyed success on the clay in 2013 will square off in this interesting second rounder.  Grigor Dimitrov had a great run in Monte-Carlo where he defeated Janko Tipsarevic and pushed Rafael Nadal to three sets in the quarter-finals.  Tommy Robredo had a surprise win in Casablanca a few weeks ago with top 30 wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and Kevin Anderson.  Robredo recovered from losing the first set to defeat qualifier and doubles specialist, Marc Lopez in the first round of Barcelona.  In a first ever match-up, I am favouring youth over experience...

Prediction - Dimitrov to beat Robredo in 3 tight sets

2. Bernard Tomic v Juan Monaco

Bernard Tomic has gone very quiet since a strong campaign down under, which included a first ATP title in Sydney and a run to the 3rd round in the Australian Open.  Tomic is not a clay courter, but enjoyed a tough win in the first round over Kenny De Schepper, 6-4 4-6 6-2.  His next challenge will be against Juan Monaco, who was knocked out by the eventual champion in Monte-Carlo, Novak Djokovic.  Tomic certainly has the ability to zone, but Monaco is very solid on the clay and should be too strong for the Aussie.

Prediction - Monaco to beat Tomic in 2 tight sets

3. Albert Ramos v Jerzy Janowicz

Looking for an upset? I would probably go for the final match on Pista Central tomorrow where the Spaniard, Albert Ramos will take on Jerzy Janowicz.  Ramos defeated Jan-Lennard Struff (great name) in straight sets, 6-4 7-6 to set up a second round clash with the 2012 Bercy runner-up.  Janowicz's year has been so-so; he has failed to fully back up the huge promise he showed in Paris at the back end of 2012.  I think he is going to struggle tomorrow as I did read that he was on antibiotics for an ear infection last week.  Ramos is a useful player on clay and with home advantage, I expect the Spaniard to prevail.

Prediction - Ramos to beat Janowicz in 2 sets

Best of the rest: 2nd Round Barcelona Predictions

Raonic to beat Roger-Vasselin in 2 sets

Ferrer to beat Tursunov in 2 sets

Klizan to beat Montanes in 3 sets

Nadal to beat Berlocq in 2 sets

Almagro to beat Dodig in 2 tight sets

Granollers to beat Kavcic in 3 sets

Paire to beat Andujar in 3 sets

WTA Stuttgart: Preview and Predictions

Stuttgart is one of my favourite stops on the WTA tour and the draw has not disappointed with some great match-ups from the get go.  Note that the top four players have byes into round two.  Let's take a look at the draw...

Angelique Kerber

Maria Sharapova headlines Stuttgart where she won the first of her three clay court titles in 2012.  It was a come-from-behind victory over Sam Stosur in a captivating Stuttgart quarter-final that guided her on the way to that title in Paris.  She will have a tough start though against the winner of a first round match between Lucie Safarova and Mona Barthel.  I have been waiting to see Barthel play Maria or Serena so I hope its Mona although her form has dipped in recent weeks.  

Sharapova is projected to meet Nadia Petrova in the quarter-finals, but she will have to get past Ana Ivanovic or Andrea Petkovic, who play against each other in another cracking first rounder.  I heard rumours a few weeks ago that Petrova was planning to retire soon; I think they were just rumours on the grapevine, but I fancy Ivanovic, who had two great wins over Kerber and Barthel in Fed Cup on the indoor courts of Stuttgart, to make the quarter-finals.

Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki headline the second section.  Kerber was brilliant here last year, playing her best match of the 2012 season to destroy Wozniacki.  This year, things feel different; no longer is she the hunter, but now the hunted.  Her first match will be against a player she has lost too this year, either Anastasia Pavluychenkova or Ekaterina Makarova.  It is impossible to call, mainly because of Pavlyuchenkova's recent form, which indicates she will either fall at the first hurdle or make the final.  Makarova's recent performances have also been patchy at best.  Wozniacki takes on Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round and may have to contend with the flying-in-form, Roberta Vinci in round two.

Sara Errani has a favourable draw in Stuttgart and will face a qualifier or Yanina Wickmayer in the second round.  She is projected to meet Sam Stosur in the quarter-finals, who she enjoyed much success over in 2012.  This included a semi-final triumph at Roland Garros and a win in round robin action at the YEC in Istanbul.  I question whether Stosur is 100% fully recovered from her calf injury and she has drawn Jelena Jankovic first up.  Jankovic is coming off two great tournaments in Miami and Charleston and also has a pretty good record over Stosur if you shy away from that 6-1 6-2 beatdown in the 2010 semi-finals of Roland Garros.  Sabine Lisicki is also in this section and the Germans are notorious for doing well at this tournament...

The final section features the hot-shot of the projected quarters as Petra Kvitova could square off with the number 2 seed, Li Na.  Kvitova will have breathed a big sigh of relief to have avoided Vinci in her section of the draw having lost to her twice in a week, at Katowice and in Fed Cup.  Kvitova opens up against German wildcard, Annika Beck and could meet another German in round two, Julia Goerges.  In 2011, Goerges famously produced a staggering line-up of performances to scoop the title, but her form this year has been stop-start.  Her first match against Kirsten Flipkens will not be easy as the Belgian is currently enjoying the best season of her career.  Still, I would back Goerges in these surroundings to pull herself today.  Li will open her tournament against either Elena Vesnina or a qualifier and should comfortably make the quarter-finals.

1st Round Predictions: Barthel to beat Safarova in 2 tight sets, Ivanovic to beat Petkovic in 2 sets, Pavlyuchenkova to beat Makarova in 3 lopsided sets, Vinci to beat Shvedova in 3 sets, Wozniacki to beat Suarez Navarro in 2 sets, Jankovic to beat Stosur in 2 tight sets and Goerges to beat Flipkens in 3 sets

Final Prediction - Sharapova d. Kvitova

I am looking forward to this tournament (can you tell?!) and I am backing Maria to win it.  The biggest opposition is likely to come from Kvitova and Li, who meet on the other side of the draw and I really think that is a 50/50 match if they both make it to the quarter-finals.  I would actually back Petra, who had a confidence crushing loss to Vinci, but then a confidence boosting win over Errani in Fed Cup this weekend.  The middle quarters offer up chances for the likes of Jankovic, Vinci and Pavlyuchenkova to carve their way through the draws, but I would not be surprised if it sticks with the seedings and Wozniacki and Kerber hold strong.  Still, I like to go for some upsets...

You can view my full predictions for Stuttgart HERE, which will get underway with main draw action on Tuesday.