Events / Sean Calvert / 14 April 2011 /

It all went wrong on Thursday when a volatile Spaniard let Sean Calvert down, but three more reliable types make up his bet on Friday at the Monte-Carlo Masters

After a great start, it's all gone a bit wrong at the Monte-Carlo Masters, with Nicolas Almagro's self-combustion yesterday causing a spot of monetary pain.

The volatile Spaniard lost it against another firebrand, Jurgen Melzer, and whacked a bunch of balls around the court before the match took a bizarre turn when it was forced inside due to rain when Almagro was serving to stay in it.

It's the quarter-finals on Friday though and let's hope for a change of luck as we head into the business end of the tournament.

Looking at the match-ups, all four favourites look pretty much nailed-on, with big prices available if you fancy Ivan Ljubicic, Frederico Gil, Melzer, or Viktor Troicki.

Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are very short indeed against Ljubicic and Melzer respectively, while Andy Murray and David Ferrer are scarcely much bigger against Gil and Troicki.

Ljubicic has the advantage of playing at his home base, but it's hard to see him having the consistency to trouble Nadal for long enough to take even a set on clay, so a 2-0 Rafa win looks the call in that one at around [1.13].

Federer and Melzer have never met on clay, but the Austrian has never taken a set off the Swiss in their previous meetings and Fed is playing well enough this week to keep that going.

Murray v Gil is a tough one to call with any real confidence, as the Portuguese will have nothing to lose in his first ever Masters Series quarter-final, while the jury is still out on Murray as his win over Gilles Simon was marred by an injury to the Frenchman.

Gil's red dirt prowess might see him nick a set off an under-pressure Murray who looks a lay at [1.6] for the 2-0 win, though he should be good enough to see off the world number 83, who is 0-5 against top-10 players in his career.

Troicki also has a shot against Ferrer, based on some of his past performances on clay, including a win over Novak Djokovic and over Tommy Robredo in the French Open last year. But the Serbian was fortunate to progress against Robredo yesterday though when the Spaniard retired after leading with an injury.

Ferrer and Troicki have met twice with easy wins for Ferrer on clay and hard being the result each time. Given the Spaniard's good form, he should progress to a semi-final against Federer without too many problems.

All in all then, this looks to be a day for a multiple, with Nadal, Federer and Ferrer around [1.4] for the treble. If you want to add Murray then it will pay [1.67], but I wouldn't be too keen to rush into that in these conditions.

Recommended Bet
Back Nadal, Federer and Ferrer in a win multiple at around [1.4]

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: