Clay-court tennis continues this week from the Estoril Open in Portugal as Stefan Tsitsipas aims to lay down a marker ahead of the Madrid Open next month.
Greek gem Tsitsipas is one of the rising stars of men’s tennis but has so far struggled on clay this season.
His two early exits from Monte Carlo and Barcelona mean even the top seed here in Portugal is not guaranteed an easy run to the final.
And that is great for tennis live stream and betting fans, who can watch and bet on every match from Cascais this week!
And here are some tennis betting tips you may wish to consider…
Watch tennis live and bet on Estoril Open
Monday, April 29 to Sunday, May 5
Can Tsitsipas win the title?
Tsitsipas is currently ranked 10th in the world and will want to boost that status before the next Grand Slam in Paris come June. To do that he must improve his clay game, which until now has not exactly impressed.
The art of sliding on clay #EstorilOpen | @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/R8DBxLWbx2
— Millennium #EstorilOpen (@EstorilOpen) April 28, 2019
Tsitsipas boasts just two clay wins for the summer, having lost to Daniil Medvedev and Jan-Lennard Struff in Monte Carlo and Barcelona respectively. From his five ATP career finals, only one has come on clay.
And this week could be tricky for the 20-year-old, with David Goffin and 2018 Portugal Open champion Joao Sousa in his half of the draw. Tsitsipas is 4.00 to win the title.
Sousa the outside tip
Sousa himself is not exactly enjoying the clay season, with first-round defeats at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona. But the 30-year-old does have clay pedigree and that should put him in good stead in Portugal.
Millennium @EstorilOpen #launchparty was quite animated. See how it went — footwork on the dance floor included #EstorilOpen | @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/XLbmfkbMXv
— Millennium #EstorilOpen (@EstorilOpen) April 28, 2019
Sousa has reached five clay finals in his career and won his last one — the 2018 Estoril Open here in Cascais. He beat Frances Tiafoe 6-4 6-4 and also bypassed Tsitsipas 6-4 1-6 7-6 in the quarter-finals that year!
Sousa is 1.56 to beat Alexei Popyrin in his first-round match on Tuesday, which you can watch and bet on via our live tennis stream service here at Unibet! A win there would put him up against Goffin – the fourth seed – in the second round. And that could prove tough.
But with Goffin bang out of form right now there is no reason to believe that Sousa cannot bypass the Belgian during a strong week in Portugal.
Monfils over Fognini
Two clay experts – Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini – are there in Portugal this week. And it’s the Frenchman Monfils who most people have an eye on. The third seed has not reached a clay final since 2016 but is in reasonable form heading into the Estoril Open, having made it to the Barcelona quarters last week. He is 7.00 to win this tournament.
Welcome to @EstorilOpen, @David__Goffin #EstorilOpen | @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/yg9oxJ6f7c
— Millennium #EstorilOpen (@EstorilOpen) April 28, 2019
Fognini is a shorter 4.50 to claim the title — and that is in part because he won the Monte Carlo title towards the start of April. Fognini also has a more favourable draw. The second seed may end up facing Tiafoe (last season’s finalist here, remember?) in the quarters but Fognini should have the upper hand here.
So why is Monfils potentially the better bet here? Well, Fognini withdrew from last week’s Barcelona Open with a hamstring problem and there are fears it could also affect him in Portugal.
