Nicolas Almagro is not a fan of hard court. The clay court specialist has had just 10 matches on hard court in the last three years. Furthermore, all 13 of his ATP Tour titles (and 10 runner-up finishes) have come on clay.
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old Spaniard should have a relatively easy path to the semifinals in Los Cabos. And if No. 2 seed Bernard Tomic makes the mistake of underestimating the World No. 48, Almagro certainly has the ability to make the Aussie pay.
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlovic is not playing like a 37-year-old man. He’s turned back the clock lately with a pair of final appearances in two of his last three events. In that stretch, the Croatian veteran was crowned the champion in the grass courts of Newport before having to settle for a runner-up finish thanks to Gael Monfils, who defeated him, 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4, in the final at Washington.
Nevertheless, Karlovic is surely going to be in the mix for the Los Cabos Open title as long as he sustains his fine play.
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco has had a relatively good year thus far, winning 20 of his 35 matches overall. That stretch includes his most celebrated victory at Bucharest, where he brought home the hardware after beating Lucas Pouille in the final, 6-3, 6-2. After winning there, though, the Spaniard failed to reach at least the quarterfinal rounds in his next seven tournaments.
However, Verdasco appears to be on the verge of a turnaround. He heads to Los Cabos fresh off a quarterfinal appearance in the recently-concluded Atlanta Open. It was just pretty unfortunate that he couldn’t move past World No. 16 Nick Kyrgios, the eventual champion of the event. That setback should motivate the World No. 46 further at least.
There you have them—the top sleepers heading into the 2016 Los Cabos Open. Create a betting account now and get in on all of the upcoming tennis action.
