Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Odds: Defending Champion Alcaraz Will be Tough to Beat
Rafael Nadal, a 12-Time Winner in Barcelona, Withdrew from the 2023 Event
Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Sinner Among Others To Watch in Barcelona
It is looking like another strong field in Barcelona. However, the face of the tournament is not going to be making an appearance as Rafael Nadal announced on social media that he was withdrawing from the event. There is a chance that he could be back in the Madrid Open later this month, one of the bigger upcoming events on the tennis schedule.
Now ranked 15th in the world, Nadal hasn’t played since losing to American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round at the Australian Open. He is 2-7 in his last nine matchups and one has to wonder what his tennis future will look like.
Even without Nadal, the field is loaded with top-10 players with Carlos Alcaraz a strong contender to defend his title at Barcelona according to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell odds.
Alcaraz is priced at -115 and trails only Novak Djokovic. Stefanos Tsitsipas (+800), Casper Rudd (+1000) and Jannik Sinner (+400) are others expected to be in the Barcelona field who are viewed as contenders to win the French Open.
The tournament, which has a 48-player singles draw, is set to begin on Monday. Here are some of the players to keep an eye on and some of the favorites when it comes to the current tennis odds.
Carlos Alcaraz
The defending champion has already won two tournaments in 2023 and is favored to make Barcelona his third title of the year after losing just one set in four matches in the Buenos Aires event and then not dropping a set while beating three top-15 players at Indian Wells.
Alcaraz had to win three three-set matches to win the 2022 Barcelona title after losing his opening match in two previous appearances. It will be hard to pick against the dynamic teen as he is at the top of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell odds.
He is just getting started and the ATP betting odds have Alcaraz priced at +1600 to reach at least three Grand Slam singles finals in 2023. That would be quite an achievement considering that he has made it to one Grand Slam final in his career and that came when he won the 2022 US Open.
Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev had to work for his Round of 16 wins over Alexander Zverev in Monte Carlo, winning the decisive third set 9-7 in a tiebreaker.
He is coming off a run to the Indian Wells final and then won in Miami while dropping just one set. Medvedev also won in Dubai, topping Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals and Andrej Rublev in the title match.
After being upset in the third round at the Australian Open, he won his next 19 matches to win the titles at Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai before advancing to the final in Indian Wells.
Medvedev advanced to the 2019 final the last time he played in Barcelona. He can’t be discounted when looking at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell odds.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas lost in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals after having a tough go of it in the United States as he lost in the second round to No. 87 Jordan Thompson in Indian Wells and then fell to No. 16 Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16 at Miami.
He made a run to the Australian Open final in January before falling to Novak Djokovic and he was undefeated in the United Cup, also held in Australia.
Tsitsipas is a two-time finalist at Barcelona, losing to Nadal in the finals in 2018 and 2021. He extended Alcaraz to three sets in the 2022 quarterfinals.
Casper Ruud
Rudd, the No. 4 ranked player in the world, should be well rested for Barcelona after falling to Jan-Lennard Struff in the Round of 16 at Monte Carlo.
After disappointing losses at Indian Wells and Miami, Rudd won the title in Estoril, although he did not face a top-30 tennis player on his way to the championship.
Ruud hasn’t advanced past the quarterfinals at Barcelona.
Jannik Sinner
A strong start to 2023 could have been even more impressive if not for a loss to Tsitsipas in a thrilling five-set affair in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Jannik Sinner won the title at Montpellier, although he didn’t have to face a top-50 player to take that tournament. He took out Tsitsipas en route to the finals at Rotterdam. He made it to the semifinals at Indian Wells and topped No. 1 Alcaraz in the semifinals at Miami before losing to Medvedev in the final.
Sinner overwhelmed Hubert Hurkacz to reach the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo.
Cameron Norrie
Norrie has played in three finals this season, winning at Rio de Janeiro with a three-set win over Alcaraz and losing in the title match at Auckland and Buenos Aires.
Norris had a nice showing in Indian Wells, topping Andrey Rublev to reach the quarterfinals. However, any momentum he had ended with a loss to No. 65 Gregoire Barrere in his first match in Miami.
Norrie has advanced to the quarterfinals at Barcelona in each of the last two years.
Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe started off 2023 with five straight wins at the United Cup. After some ups and downs, he made it to the semifinals at Indian Wells and after an early exit in Miami, he won the 250 events in Houston without dropping a set.
The odds aren’t in Tiafoe’s favor as no American has reached the finals in Barcelona since Todd Martin won the 1998 tournament. Before that, the last U.S. player in the final was 1979 runner-up Eddie Dibbs.
Tiafoe hasn’t made it past the third round in his previous three trips to Barcelona.
Follow us on Twitter
