Matteo Arnaldi – Photo Getty Images
Tomorrow the Masters 1000 in Madrid will begin and there will already be two Italians in the field. Matteo Arnaldi, playing against Chris O’Connell, will try to do well like in Barcelona last week, where he lost to Ruud in the quarterfinals. According to the experts, the Ligurian starts ahead in altitude in the debut match: success offered between 1.40 and 1.41 against the Australian who fluctuates between 2.85 and 2.90. O’Connell has not yet won a set on clay this year and the bookmakers see 2-0 for Arnaldi as the most likely result, at 2.04, followed by 2-1 at 3.60.
The debut of, however, is more uphill Flavio Cobolli against Alejandro Tabilo. The Chilean, very comfortable on clay, plays winner between 1.65 and 1.67, while the blue’s success is seen at 2.14. In the betting set, Tabilo is ahead 2-0, at 2.60, while the same result for Cobolli pays 3.55 times the stake.
Also on the field Rafa Nadal, two years after the last match in Madrid. The opponent will be Darwin Blanch, a very young American. It will be the match with the largest age gap between the two rivals in the history of the Masters 1000. With a 21-year difference and numerous titles in tow, Nadal is still the bookie’s favourite: success on debut is seen at 1.01 against the 17 of Blanch’s sensational feat.
Odds and head-to-head matches
1R Darderi
