Quarterfinal spots will be at stake on Thursday in Barcelona. Among the third-round highlights are Milos Raonic vs. Ernests Gulbis and Tomas Berdych vs. Tommy Robredo.
(5) Milos Raonic vs. (Q) Ernests Gulbis
Raonic and Gulbis will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Thursday. Both of their previous encounters went Raonic’s way; 6-4, 7-5 two years ago on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo and 6-2, 7-6(3) last season indoors in Memphis.
Gulbis, however, finally appears to be taking the game more seriously and he looks like a different player in 2013. The 24-year-old Latvian is back up to No. 53 in the world and he boasts an outstanding 16-4 record at the ATP main-draw level this year, which includes a title in Delray Beach. Raonic is also in fine form. The 13th-ranked Canadian captured a third consecutive title in San Jose and he improved to 15-5 for the season by easing past Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. Gulbis, meanwhile, qualified for the main draw then ousted both Radek Stepanek and Fernando Verdasco in straight sets.
With Gulbis moving better than he ever has and striking the ball from the back of the court like he did at times between 2008 and 2010, Raonic will have to serve extremely well in order to fend off what would be a slight upset on paper. The qualifier is playing with extreme confidence right now and the surface favors him in this matchup, so he should be able wear down Raonic from the baseline.
Pick: Gulbis in 3
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Tommy Robredo vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Robredo and Berdych will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they meet on Thursday. Berdych holds a 4-3 advantage in the head-to-head series, but it is tied up at one win apiece on clay. They have not faced each other since the 2010 Shanghai Masters, in which Berdych cruised to a 6-0, 6-4 victory.
A resurgent Robredo is back in stellar form following an injury-plagued 2012 campaign. The 31-year-old Spaniard has climbed to 43rd in the rankings and he is an impressive 13-8 for the season after Barcelona wins over Marc Lopez and Grigor Dimitrov. Robredo kicked off his clay-court swing with a title in Casablanca. Berdych earned a first-round bye in Barcelona before saving a match point against Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday and eventually prevailing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The sixth-ranked Czech is 23-7 for the year but is still in search of his first title in 2013.
An upset is not out of the question for several reasons. First, Berdych’s shoulder has been giving him trouble and he does not seem to be serving at 100 percent. Second, the clay gives an obvious edge to Robredo. That being said, this week’s No. 3 seed is a huge hitter from the back of the court on any surface and his survival in round two should give him enough confidence to pull out one more hard-fought victory.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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