Ricky Dimon
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The clay-court swing continues on its way toward next month’s French Open when the Barcelona Open takes center stage this coming week. It’s a 500-point tournament on the men’s side (the third-highest level behind only Grand Slams – which award 2000 ranking points to the champion – and Masters 1000s). A Masters 1000 just took place last week in Monte-Carlo, where Stefanos Tsitsipas captured a second consecutive title.
Tsitsipas is the top seed in Barcelona, where he finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2021. Nadal is sidelined for at least another week because of a rib injury, but Barcelona still boasts a strong field. Joining Tsitsipas on the list of top seeds are Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Let’s take a look at the odds to win the Barcelona title and discuss the best bets to be made. It should be noted that the WTA Tour does not play this event, so there are no betting opportunities on the women’s side.
Barcelona Open odds
Here are the odds for the Barcelona Open men’s singles tournament, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Carlos Alcaraz +250
Stefanos Tsitsipas +350
Casper Ruud +450
Diego Schwartzman +1200
Pablo Carreno Busta +1400
Sebastian Korda +2000
Cameron Norrie +2200
Felix Auger-Aliassime +2500
Albert Ramos-Vinolas +2500
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina +2800
3-star value play: Stefanos Tsitsipas (+350)
Tsitsipas was my 2-star play at +600 to win the Monte-Carlo Masters. That was a big winner, so I am going right back to the well this week — this time with a full 3 stars. Tsitsipas has always been at his best on red clay. In the last two French Opens he has reached the semifinals and the final — losing in five sets to Novak Djokovic on both occasions. Now he is a two-time Monte-Carlo champion and is looking to go one step farther in Barcelona than he did last year (lost to Nadal in a three-set thriller in the championship match). When you can get Tsitsipas as the second favorite, it’s a steal.
2-star value play: Diego Schwartzman (+1200)
Schwartzman was the only man who came close to beating Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo. In fact, the Argentine led 4-0 in the third set of their quarterfinal contest before his huge advantage slipped away just prior to the finish line. Schwartzman is also a force on clay and he is on the opposite side of the draw from Tsitsipas in Barcelona. This sets up to be a great week for him.
1-star value play: Felix Auger-Aliassime (+2500)
It’s true that Auger-Aliassime is a considerable slump right bow, but he has always been a boom-or-bust player. There is no reason why he can’t suddenly get going and recapture the form that he displayed at the beginning of this season (Australian Open quarterfinals, Rotterdam title, Marseille final). The Canadian is the No. 3 seed in Barcelona and he is going off as the eighth favorite. Such lofty +2500 odds cannot be passed up; it’s at least worth a small play.
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