Ferrer wins 6-1, 6-4

Ferrer is very far from his best form. We shouldn’t be surprised that after a succesfull and hard season (2012) his level drops. It’s not easy to mantain such a good form for so long. Losing against Tursunov over the Barcelona clay or beating Roger-Vasselin in 3 sets in this tournament are two examples that he is not playing his best tennis. He will have it much more difficult against Seppi. The Spaniard is the favourite but I think odds for him to beat the Italian should be much higher . I’ve chosen a handicap bet (Seppi +5 games) because Ferrer is such a fighter that even playing bad he is able to beat most of players in the circuit. If you don’t have access to Seppi+5 you can pick Seppi+4.5 at higher odds (now 2.02 in Pinnacle) or even Seppi as the match winner and try to cover your position in the Betfair inplay market.

Troicki wins 6-3, 6-2

Bachinger is getting the form lately, he plays at home and has already played 3 qualies matches. He is serving great, as he showed against Andreas Beck, where he made 20 aces. Troicki has won 2 matches in Bucharest but his form is low, as his latest resulst show. He was beaten by 6-3, 6-1 (Rosol) in Buvharest and 6-1, 6-2 in Montecarlo (Nieminen). I think Bachinger should be the favourite to get the next round.

Betis 1 – Deportivo 1

Valladolid 1 – Sevilla 1

Real Sociedad 4 – Valencia 2

Espanyol 0 – Granada 1

Granada is in relegation positions and is playing a vital match against Espanyol, who isn’t playing for nothing really. Theya have already assured their place in the 1st division for next season anfd uefa positions are quite far away. With these determinants I think Granada odds are very attractive. They played a great match against Valladolid (1-1) last weekend and they deserved much more.

Atlético Madrid 1 – Real Madrid 2

- The last time Atlético Madrid beat  Real Madrid was in October 1999. That is more than 13 years!! But this time I think this run can be broken.

- Real Madrid is only thinking about their Champions League semifinals against Borussia. They will have only a 2 days rest (they play today) and the 2nd leg is to be played on Tuesday.

- Real Madrid has nothing to do in La Liga. They are playing just for the 2nd place. If they lose they will be tied in that position with Atlético.

- Atlético is making a great season and they are being really strong at home.

-  They will play very aggressive with lost of pressure and Mourinho won’t want to risk their best players presence in the 2nd leg. I think most of the regulars won’t play.

- This is an early pick because I think the market has still to adjust this factors and odds will drop.

Klizan wins 6-3, 6-4

Klizan 2/3 bp, Montañés 0/8…

Klizan, after leading 4-2 against Mónaco in Monte Carlo, lost 10 consecutive games  (6-4, 6-0). We don’t know if he had some kinf of physical problem. The Slovak made 7 df, won 42% of points played on his first serve and 31% on his second one. Klizan had treatment the previous week against Anderson in Casablanca but I don’t know if his bad performance in Monte Carlo had some connection with this. Anyway, after this woeful performance and against a player like Montañés, who is gradually improving his form, who plays at home, on his favourite surface, I don’t think Klizan should be the favourite.

Paire wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

Andújar squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set.

After been beaten by Gasquet in Montecarlo last Wednesday, Paire said on his Twitter account “Uncertain for Barcelona tournament. Some days of treatement and we’ll see how I feel”. On Thursday he said “Thigh injure that makes me skip Barcelona (. next tournament Estoril if it gets better”. And on Sunday he said “Finally I fly tomorrow to Barcelona. The evolution has been good”… I think it’s very difficult that he fully recovers in just 2 days. The 5,955 euros check he receives if he plays the first round might be a reason. Andújar is gradually improving his form latelly and I think he should be the favourite against a far from his 100% Paire and over clay.

Bayern Munich 4 – Barcelona 0