Defending Champ Norrie Among Betting Favorites In ATP Stop In Rio
Former Champs Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie Lead the ATP Rio Open Odds
Norrie Looks To Become The First Back-to-Back Winner in Rio
Two of the top contenders in the ATP Rio Open odds also entered the Argentina Open with much different results as Carlos Alcaraz won his opening match while Cameron Norrie fell to Federico Coria.
Alcaraz and Norrie are the only top 20 players in the Rio field. No. 21 Nicolas Jarry, No. 22 Francisco Cerundolo, No. 27 Tomas Martin Echeverry and No. 30 Sebastian Baez are also on the entry list.
When looking at the ATP rankings, Baez was one of the biggest fallers as he went from 26th to 30th.
Keep on reading for more on the ATP 500 event in Rio.
Been There, Done That
With some of the big names on tour not exactly rushing out to play smaller clay-court events, this field bears a striking resemblance to the ATP 250 stop in Argentina.
The top eight seeds could be exactly the same as the previous week’s clay-court event with Alcaraz and Norrie leading the way. That could factor into the ATP Rio Open odds.
Alcaraz, Jarry, Etcheverry, and Baez all reached the quarterfinals at the IEB+ Argentina Open.
Alcaraz won the 2022 title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Diego Schwartzman in the title match.
He returned in 2023 and won a pair of three-set matches to return to the singles final before he lost to Norrie 7-5 in the third set. Alcaraz became the first defending champion to return to the final in Rio.
Alcaraz has even odds to win at least one Grand Slam singles title in 2024 with +275 odds to take two of the final three majors this year.
Norrie has a chance to become the first back-to-back champion in the tournament.
Norrie had to win a pair of three-set matches before meeting up with Alcaraz in the 2023 tournament.
TOP 10 PLAYS: 2023 ATP SEASON! 🤩
10) @carlosalcaraz‘s MONSTER Forehand in Rio!
(A Thread) 👇 pic.twitter.com/uIHfQOCBjY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) December 17, 2023
Other Top Contenders
All three of Jarry’s ATP titles have come on clay. He won the Geneva and Santiago events in 2023 while his first career title came at Bastad in 2018. Jarry’s first final at the ATP level was at Sao Paulo in 2018. That is something to consider when looking at the ATP Rio Open odds.
The first of Cerundolo’s two ATP singles titles came on clay in Bastad in 2022 as three of his four career finals are on clay.
Baez and Etcheverry know a little about winning on clay as well.
Three of the four career ATP titles for Baez came on clay. In 2023, he won the clay-court events in Kitzbuhel and Cordoba. Five of his six career ATP finals happened in clay-court events.
Etcheverry made some tennis news with wins over veterans Andy Murray and Gael Monfils at the Australian. However, when looking at the tennis game spread bets, he has also enjoyed some success on clay. He reached the semifinals in Kitzbuhel and took out a pair of top-20 players to make it to the 2023 French Open quarterfinals.
While his best days are in the rear-view mirror, Stan Wawrinka is a former French Open champion.
It has been a difficult start to 2024 for Yannick Hanfmann but his run to the Rome quarterfinals in 2023 included a pair of top-10 wins.
A Look Back
The draw opened up for Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Rio Open with No. 3 seed Lorenzo Musetti and No. 5 seed Diego Schwartzman both losing in the first round. With Jarry, a qualifier, taking out No. 6 seed Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz didn’t face a seeded player until meeting up with Norrie in the final.
It was the same story for Norrie with only one of the other three seeds in his half of the draw getting through to the quarterfinals. Six of his 13 sets had either 7-5 or 7-6 scores.
What’s Next?
February wraps up with ATP 250 or 500 events in Qatar, Los Cabos, Dubai, Acapulco, and Santiago.
Things will heat up when the ATP tour returns to the U.S. for a pair of two-week events in Indian Wells and Miami with both of those ATP 1000 events coming on hard courts.
The focus will turn to the French Open preparation with the next 11 events all being held on clay heading into the next Grand Slam on the tennis schedule.
Alcaraz has the best odds of +150 in the French Open outrights. Among other players on the Rio entry list, Cerundolo (+6600) and Norrie (+8000) have the best odds to win the French Open.
For Tennis betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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