The clay-court season is in full swing with one of its most iconic tournaments, the Madrid Open, continuing on Tuesday.
The men’s competition has reached the last 16, with Carlos Alcaraz and Alex Zverev among those involved, while the first women’s quarter-final is also on the schedule.
Madrid Open Tennis Tips
- Three sets in Hubert Hurkacz v Taylor Fritz @ 11/10
- Three sets in Jan-Lennard Struff v Carlos Alcaraz @ 9/5
- Iga Swiatek to win 2-0 v Beatriz Haddad Maia @ 1/3
Treble pays 13/2
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Hurkacz and Fritz could play out a classic
A classic could be on the cards when Hubert Hurkacz takes on Taylor Fritz in the last-16 of the Madrid Open.
Hurkacz is seeded eighth with Fritz seeded 12th and both have enjoyed strong tournaments so far.
Hurkacz won his matches against Jack Draper and Daniel Altmaier in straight sets, while Fritz has also reeled off successive 2-0 victories in matches with Luciano Darderi and Sebastian Baez.
The American has won two of the three meetings between the players, but their previous contests have all been close and this match could go the distance.
Three of Hurkacz’s last five matches have featured tiebreaks and this could be another tight one with three sets in the match the best bet.
Alcaraz could be pushed close by Struff
Carlos Alcaraz remains the man to watch at the Madrid Open, as the Spanish youngster targets a third successive title in his home nation’s capital.
But Alcaraz has not had any prior practice on European clay courts this season and could be challenged by German Jan Lennard-Struff.
Struff is fresh from winning the Bavarian International and he has won both of his matches in Madrid in straight sets, against Jaume Munar and Ugo Humbert.
Beating Alcaraz may be a stretch too far, but Struff could certainly take the Spaniard to three sets.
Struff showed he is not fazed by big names when chalking up wins over Fritz, Holger Rune and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to his Bavarian International triumph and he can impress in Madrid.
Swiatek can ease to victory
Iga Swiatek’s quarter-final tussle with Beatriz Haddad Maia, meanwhile, could be more one-sided.
Swiatek, top seed in the women’s draw, has barely broken a sweat at this year’s Madrid Open.
She has won all three of her matches in straight sets, prevailing by an aggregate score of 36-8 across those encounters.
The Pole has taken her time to get going on the WTA tour this year, but was a semi-finalist at the recent Stuttgart Open and is often a class act on the slower surface.
Swiatek leads her head-to-head against Haddad Maia 2-1 and can show her class on clay against the Brazilian with a 2-0 triumph.
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Source: TalkSport.com Tennis
