We've got two quarter-final matches to get through today in Barcelona, with cool temperatures around 15°C and some clouds keeping conditions comfortable out on the clay. Both matches have something interesting going on, so let's get into it.
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Predictions
Cameron Norrie vs Rafael Jodar
Head-to-head: Norrie 0-1 Jodar
Jodar already has a win over Norrie on his record, and that matters more than it might look on paper. Norrie has been a middling clay-court performer for most of his career, never really finding the heavy topspin game you need to dominate on this surface, and Jodar is a solid clay specialist who knows exactly how to make life uncomfortable for players like him.
Playing at home in Spain with the crowd behind him makes this even better for Jodar and I feel like the ranking gap is a bit misleading here. Norrie hasn't been in great form recently and this is a tough ask.
Prediction: Jodar in 3
Hamad Medjedovic vs Nuno Borges
Head-to-head: First meeting
No previous meetings to draw on, but Medjedovic has been one of the more interesting young clay-courters on tour, comfortable in long rallies and not easy to push around from the baseline. Borges is no slouch on clay either and has had a decent season, but hard to see this being competitive at all given the gap in clay-court quality between them.
Medjedovic takes it, though. That said, he's become so good at not panicking in tight moments, and on a slow Barcelona clay, a surface that really rewards patience, that quality tends to show up.
Prediction: Medjedovic in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Javier Borrego/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire