David Ferrer is in search of his first win of the current clay-court swing as he takes the court on Wednesday in Oeiras. David Goffin and Pablo Carreno-Busta are also bidding for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) David Ferrer vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Ferrer, who finished runner-up at the Sony Open, is looking to get on track during the clay-court swing as he begins his week at the Portugal Open on Wednesday. The fourth-ranked Spaniard pulled out of Monte-Carlo and then lost his Barcelona opener to Dmitry Tursunov. Still, Ferrer is 25-6 for his 2013 campaign, which includes titles in Acapulco and Buenos Aires.
Up first for the top seed is Roger-Vasselin, against whom he holds a 1-0 record. Their only previous encounter came at the 2008 Australian Open, with Ferrer dominating 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Roger-Vasselin is a solid 10-9 at the ATP level this season after getting a retirement from Gilles Muller on Monday (Muller lost the first set 6-1 before calling it quits). The 73rd-ranked Frenchman, a finalist in Delray Beach, also reached the second rounds of Casablanca, Monte-Carlo (as a qualifier), and Barcelona. This likely won’t be a breeze because Roger-Vasselin is playing well and Ferrer is short on both match practice and confidence, but an obvious edge still goes to the favorite.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
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(Q) Pablo Carreno-Busta vs. David Goffin
Carreno-Busta and Goffin will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Wednesday in Oeiras. On paper this is not a competitive matchup, but in reality it should be just that. Goffin is ranked 167 spots ahead of his opponent at No. 61 in the world, but he is just 7-11 for the year after breaking onto the ATP scene with a bang in 2012. The Belgian beat Portuguese wild card Pedro Sousa in three sets on Monday.
Almost nobody is as hot as Carreno-Busta, at least not at the Futures and Challenger levels. The 21-year-old Spaniard has won seven Futures events this season and he earned his third ATP-level victory on Tuesday by taking out fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4. Carreno-Busta, who went through qualifying this week, also advanced one round in Casablanca and Barcelona.
The key in this one will be the ability to dictate baseline exchanges. Goffin hopes to play backhand-to-backhand rallies all day long, whereas Carreno-Busta has a considerable advantage off the forehand side. Neither man will win a ton of free points on serve, but first-serve percentage will be key in order to get an upper hand right away from the back of the court. Carreno-Busta has the edge in current form, but Goffin’s relative experience should see him through to a hard-fought triumph.
Pick: Goffin in 3
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