Something ominous is happening on the ATP Tour in South America. After four months of being side lined by an injury, Carlos Alcaraz is back and looking just as lethal as he was in 2022 when he rocketed to the No. 1 spot in men’s tennis.
The current World No. 2 swept aside his competition in Buenos Aires over the past week dropping only one set despite not having played competitively since November. Now, he sets his sights on the neighbouring Rio de Janeiro where he’ll be eager to win another clay court title ahead of the French Open in late May. Cam Norrie will again attempt to stop the 19-year-old, while a host of South American players will also be trying their luck.
We break down the best bets to make on the Rio Open 2023 with odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 19th, 9:00 P.M. (GMT)
The big question on every tennis fans’ mind last week was how Alcaraz would play after four months of inaction. Would the teenage sensation return at the level that saw him become the youngest ever World No. 1 and win the US Open in 2022 or would that form be an unsustainable flash in the pan? Unfortunately for the rest of the tour, the answer appears to have been the former as Alcaraz was looking as good as ever in Buenos Aires. As a result, bookmaker William Hill has the Spaniard an overwhelming favourite to win this week as well with odds of 1.73 in Rio de Janeiro.
The next favourite in the bookies’ odds is British No. 1 Cam Norrie with odds of 9.00. Trouble is Norrie just lost to Alcaraz in a relatively comfortable 6-3, 7-5 final in Buenos Aires today. Norrie and Alcaraz are again the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in Rio de Janeiro with the odds indicating the Brit will need to make some radical changes in the next seven days if a different result is to occur. After Norrie, Argentinian Sebastian Baez is the third favourite at 10.00 followed closely by Lorenzo Musetti at 11.00.
Looking at the draw in this year’s Rio Open, it’s hard to bet against Alcaraz. In his quarter, he’ll likely face one of Serbians Laslo Djere or Dusan Lajovic—both of whom he beat in Buenos Aires last week. A semi against either Baez or Musetti will be no walkover but also unlikely to challenge Alcaraz before a likely rematch of this week’s final against Cam Norrie, and we know how that just unfolded. Back the Spaniard to go back to back in South America and win the Rio Open 2023 with odds of 1.73.
