Tennis best bets for the Mutua Madrid Open – Wednesday, April 26th
The Mutua Madrid Open is one of the biggest clay-court events of the season, as this is a 1000-level tournament for both the men and the women. This is one of the biggest non-majors of the entire year, so most of the stars will be out on the red clay over the next two weeks. We’re going to have you covered with tennis best bets for every big tournament of the season, so keep reading for our tennis predictions for Wednesday, April 26th and make sure you keep coming back for more!
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on April 26
Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. Ilya Ivashka
This has been a miserable clay-court season for Ramos-Vinolas, but the lefty is still one of the tour’s quintessential dirt ballers. So, while Ramos-Vinolas is just 4-14 since the start of the 2023 season, I care a lot more about the fact that the 35-year-old is 190-159 on clay throughout his career. This is a guy that has as much experience on the dirt as anyone, and he understands how to grind out wins on this surface. That makes him a good value to take down Ivashka, who is just 14-20 on clay in his career. Ivashka is also just 8-11 against lefties in his career. Look for Ramos-Vinolas’ variety to shine through in this one.
Bet: Ramos-Vinolas ML (+120)
Mirra Andreeva vs. Leylah Fernandez
Andreeva comes into Madrid after having won back-to-back Challenger-level tournaments on clay. She’s now 15-2 on the surface over the last 52 weeks at the ITF level. And while that’s not quite the same as facing top-tier WTA competition, there’s no substitute for experience on a surface. Andreeva has played and won a lot of clay-court matches, but the same can’t be said for Fernandez. The Canadian did play two clay-court matches earlier in April, but she then followed it up with two matches on indoor hard courts. With that in mind, the lefty won’t be quite as comfortable in these conditions. That makes Andreeva a good value as an underdog. The 15-year-old has a lot of game, and the fans will likely rally behind her because of her age.
Bet: Andreeva ML (+115)
Jaqueline Cristian vs. Sloane Stephens
This is another match in which we’re taking a shot on recent clay-court form. Cristian comes into this meeting with Stephens after having won eight of her last 10 matches on the dirt. None of those matches came at the WTA level, but Stephens has played only two matches on clay all year. The American also happens to be just 5-8 on the season to begin with, and she hasn’t been a high-level player in the women’s game since 2018. Her name and history outweigh her on-court production by a wide margin at this point, and that makes Stephens a good player to fade in the early rounds. So, it makes a lot of sense to put a little something on Cristian, who should be confident after having already won 21 matches in 2023. Cristian will also be eager to win her first tour-level match of the year, and this matchup presents as good a chance as any for her to do that.
Bet: Cristian ML (+120)
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Jaume Munar
Kokkinakis is going to have a big advantage over Munar in the power department, but that’s about it. Munar is one of the more underrated clay-court players in the world, while Kokkinakis has played just 14 clay-court matches in his ATP career. Kokkinakis also happens to be just 4-10 in those matches, and it’s hard to envision him winning this one. Kokkinakis does have one of the biggest serves on tour, but the slow surface should give Munar a decent chance to pick it up and get balls back in play. And Munar is going to have a huge advantage when it comes to extended rallies, making him the right player to bet here.
Bet: Munar ML (-115)