Events / Ben Caudell / 14 April 2010 /

Andy's aiming to get back on track today but Ben Caudell reckons the Brit might be in for more misery. Meanwhile, a Croatian man on a mission should come through his encounter with a rusty Frenchman.

Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) v Michael Llodra (FRA)
Ivan Ljubicic, who unexpectedly won his first ever Master Series title in Indian Wells, is on a mission to reach the top 10 of the world rankings. Currently ranked 14, the in-form Croat pushed aside the likes of Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic to win one of the most prestigious events outside of the four Grand Slams. With the 31-year-old still buoyant with success, opponents must be extremely wary of him. Monte Carlo is the city where he resides too and I have no doubt that Ljubicic will have the passion and determination to reach the later stages of this event.

In his way stands Michael Llodra, a player who is not known for his expertise on clay. The left-hander, who's serve and volley game is more suited to the lower bouncing faster surfaces, has played a paltry four matches on clay since his fourth round loss to Ernest Gulbis in the 2008 French Open. Although his display against laid back clay courter Fabio Fognini was efficient enough for him to make the second round, he will need to start well against Ljubicic to have any chance of succeeding.

Their head-to-head series reads one a piece. Ljubicic was the winner of their most recent meeting, a straight sets win on indoor hard late last year, and he has also won five of his last six encounters against left hander. This should prove to be a straight forward win for the Croatian and a step closer to reaching the top 10.

Selection: Back Ivan Ljubibic @ 1.5 to win match
Back Ljubicic 2-0 @ 2.24

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Since finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, Andy Murray has had an awful couple of months, losing in the first round of the Miami Masters, the quarter finals of Indian wells and the last 16 of Dubai. The young Scott will be eager for a change of scenery after a hectic hard court campaign and the start of the clay season may well spur him back into the form he needs to stop his ranking sliding.

Murray's incentive to do well in Monte Carlo is the need to defend points; he reached the semi-finals last year and if he is unable to reach the same round at this years event, he will drop to number five in the world rankings.

Kohlschreiber is no mug on any surface and particularly not clay. The German has had some decent wins on this surface in the past and Murray will have to work his socks off to get past this tenacious competitor. If he shows any sign of weakness against Kohlschreiber we will witness another early exit for the Brit.

Selection: Lay A Murray 2-0 @ [1.99]
Back Philip Kohlschreiber @ [3.1] to win Set 01

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