ATP Masters in Monte Carlo, 3rd round, Tuesday, 12/04/2022
Who will be crowned the first Masters Champion 2022 on clay? Slowly but surely, the tennis season moves on towards the French Open. Time to get the form going. In Monte Carlo, all the big names will be at the starting line.
Some duels are already exciting early on, for example when two players from the top 30 play their opening match against each other. In my Evans Bautista Agut tip, you can find out why I’m assuming that Spain will be the classic favourite on clay.
The world No. 1, the new top striker Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev? The list of overall favourites here in Monte Carlo reads quite familiar, of course.
The name Roberto Bautista Agut does not appear at the moment. Thanks to Rafael Nadal, the Monte Carlo Masters has actually been in Spanish hands for a long time. Between 2005 and 2018, Rafa snatched an incredible eleven titles there.
This year he is not taking part, but would of course like to hand over the sceptre to one of his compatriots. Roberto Bautista Agut is the outsider here, as the 33-year-old’s last few tournaments were anything but exhilarating.
In Miami he lost early to Jenson Brooksby, in Indian Wells at least “only” the strong Alcaraz threw him out of the tournament. Nevertheless, the 2-6, 0-6 was alarming. Can the Spaniard no longer keep up with the very best?
He won the Qatar Open this year, but all the other tournaments were very changeable. The world number 18 is also anything but an expert for the Masters in Monte Carlo.
Four times in the round of 16, that’s the score with which he will be competing in 2022. After all, only twice did players who sent him home at this tournament not make the top 15, so Bautista Agut did not suffer a real embarrassment.
At the recent Grand Prix as well as in Miami the Briton had to go home after the 1st round, in Indian Wells the second match was the last one. Only once did he manage to win two games.
He is still ranked 27th in the world, the trend seems to be downwards. But there is one thing that gives his fans hope. Not the performance at the premiere in Monte Carlo 2017, where he was immediately out.
But instead, he found his feet last year. Evans beat Dusan Lajovic, Hubert Hurkacz, Novak Djokovic and David Goffin in turn and suddenly found himself in the semi-finals!
Only Stefanos Tsitsipas, the eventual champion, put him in his place. Can he really repeat this strong tournament in 2022? In any case, he will meet Roberto Bautista Agut for the first time in his career.
My Evans Bautista Agut tip
In absolute top form, Roberto Bautista Agut nor Daniel Evans will compete again on Tuesday. The two veterans have yet to really find their feet in 2022.
But the Spaniard will get the nod in the end, as he has been eliminated against the stronger opponents in recent weeks and has more experience in Monte Carlo.
So my tip is: Bautista Agut beats Evans!
