Barcelona R2 previews and predictions: Goffin vs. Granollers, Mannarino vs. Cuevas

Coming off a quarterfinal performance in Monte-Carlo, David Goffin will begin his Barcelona campaign when he goes up against Marcel Granollers on Tuesday. Second-round action also includes a contest between Adrian Mannarino and Pablo Cuevas.

(4) David Goffin vs. (WC) Marcel Granollers

Goffin and Granollers will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday afternoon. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece; Goffin prevailed 6-4, 6-4 at the 2016 Miami Masters before Granollers got the job done in their only previous clay-court encounter via a 7-6(1), 6-4 decision a few weeks later in Monte-Carlo.

Fast forward two years and it is Goffin–aside from a couple of freak injuries–who is going in the right direction. The Belgian played in the Nitto ATP Finals last season (finished runner-up to Grigor Dimitrov) and currently registers at No. 10 in the world. An eye problem has hampered his progress in 2018, but Goffin started to pick up the pace in Monte-Carlo with a quarterfinal appearance. Granollers, meanwhile, is struggling down at 129th in the rankings. The 32-year-old Spaniard played his first ATP main-draw match of the season on Monday and benefited from both home-court advantage and the surface to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-2. A steep step up in competition should result in a swift end to the wild card’s week.

Pick: Goffin in 2

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Pablo Cuevas vs. (11) Adrian Mannarino

Cuevas and Mannarino will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and–unfortunately for Mannarino–for the third time on clay when they meet again on Tuesday. Both of their previous contests went Cuevas’ way; 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 at the 2013 French Open and 6-4, 7-6(2) last spring in Rome. The latter result is included in Mannarino’s current stretch of four consecutive losses in the main draw of clay-court tournaments. The 27th-ranked Frenchman has not won a main-draw match on the slow stuff since Monte-Carlo in 2017.

Whereas Mannarino prefers grass or a low-bouncing hard court, Cuevas has always been right at home on clay. The 46th-ranked Uruguayan has not been at his best on any surface this year, but he at least managed to reach the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro and the semis in Sao Paulo. Although Cuevas missed out on a bye in Barcelona by just three ranking spots, he had no trouble disposing of qualifier Ricardo Ojeda Lara 6-0, 6-4 on Monday. With a match already under his belt, Cuevas should be able to hand Mannarino another head-to-head setback on this surface.

Pick: Cuevas in 2

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