Fernando Verdasco and Tomas Berdych will kick off their Barcelona campaigns on Tuesday. They are set for respective meetings with Ernests Gulbis and Nikolay Davydenko.
(Q) Ernests Gulbis vs. (12) Fernando Verdasco
Gulbis and Verdasco will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters were contested on clay and both were won by Verdasco–6-2, 7-6(4) in the 2010 Barcelona quarterfinals and 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the 2012 Umag second round.
There could be a turning of the tide forthcoming in this matchup, at least if current form has anything to do with it. Gulbis is 15-4 at the ATP main-draw level this season and he is back up to No. 53 in the world. The Latvian has successfully qualified for tournaments in all three of his attempts, including this week. Gulbis maintained his momentum with a straight-set victory over Radek Stepanek on Monday. Verdasco, on the other hand, is a an awful 3-7 for his 2013 campaign. The 35th-ranked Spaniard has lost his opener in five of seven events, including last week in Monte-Carlo to Marinko Matosevic.
Clay will give Verdasco a chance, but at the same time Gulbis is a former French Open quarterfinalist and Rome semifinalist on surface. The 24-year-old is on fire when he’s hot and a walking bye when he’s cold, and right now he is hot. That does not bode well for the No. 12 seed.
Pick: Gulbis in 2
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Nikolay Davydenko vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Davydenko and Berdych will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they clash on Tuesday. Somewhat surprisingly, Davydenko leads the head-to-head series 9-2–including 2-0 on clay. Berdych, however, is 2-1 against the Russian since the start of 2009. They have not faced each other since Dubai in 2011, when Berdych prevailed 6-3, 7-6(5).
Davydenko, of course, is a shadow of his former self right now. The 31-year-old is down at No. 41 in the world, but he at least owns a decent 13-9 record this season. Davydenko, who has lost in the second round of three consecutive tournaments, opened with an easy win over wild card Roberto Carballes Baena on Monday. Berdych is 22-7 for the year, but he got blown out by Richard Gasquet in the Miami quarterfinals and lost to Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2 in the Monte-Carlo third round.
The sixth-ranked Czech would prefer to play this one on a fast hard court, but he has enjoyed past success on the slow stuff and his opponent is by no means a clay-court specialist. While Berdych may not be playing consistent enough at the moment to ease through this one in straights, his firepower on serve and off both wings from the back of the court will likely be too much for Davydenko.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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