A couple of veteran tennis players will collide in the 2024 ATP Barcelona draw. Cameron Norrie will face Roberto Bautista-Agut in an upcoming second-round match at the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Norrie, who represents Britain, is priced as the favorite in the match at -150 (bet365) on the moneyline against the 36-year-old Spaniard. My Norrie vs Bautista-Agut prediction is that the latter player will win this match.
Schedule of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Cameron Norrie vs Roberto Bautista-Agut Head-to-Head Series
The Norrie vs Bautista-Agut h2h is 2-0 in favor of the former player, Norrie. Their series dates back to 2018 when the British player won a five-set Davis Cup match. The Brit also won a match in Indian Wells in 2021, however, they have not played a recent match. Nor have the two players ever faced one another on clay.
On current rankings, RBA is the World No. 84 while Norrie is the World No. 31. Norrie looks a little better on year-to-date rankings as he is the No. 22 player so far this season. Meanwhile, RBA is the No. 55 from a season-to-date perspective.
The Draw: Right-click/Open the link in a new tab for the draw for the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Cameron Norrie's Recent Matches and Results
Norrie had a bye through the first round. In the second round, he faced a test against a low-ranked French qualifier. Norrie won that match via retirement when his opponent retired ahead of the third set. The match looked like a coin toss otherwise.
Last week, Norrie went 0-1 in the Monte-Carlo Masters draw, losing in straight sets to Karen Khachanov. Norrie did not have much going for him in Indian Wells and Miami, going 2-2 in those tournaments combined. He did win some matches in the Rio draw on clay in February. But that was a failed title defense for him. Back in Buenos Aires, he went out in his opening match. Norrie seemed to be playing his best back in January when he beat Alex de Minaur at the United Cup and made the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Roberto Bautista-Agut's Recent Matches and Results
Roberto Bautista-Agut is 4-1 on his sets played so far in the Barcelona draw. Last week, he was in Monte Carlo where he played well. He went 3-1 on matches in the main draw and qualifying draw combined. RBA also won a match in Estoril a couple of weeks ago.
Serving Splits: ATP Stats
This section lists each player's ATP stats for the last 52 weeks on the relevant surface. Bettors should look and consider the splits: how one player's serve seems to match up against the other player's return-of-serve.
Cameron Norrie
Serving ability: 53rd/clay/last 52 weeks
Return-of-serve ability: 23rd/clay/last 52 weeks
Roberto Bautista-Agut
Serving ability: 51st/clay/last 52 weeks
Return-of-serve ability: 37th/clay/last 52 weeks
Norrie vs Bautista-Agut Prediction: RBA wins
I think this match is about picking the "man of the moment." I like Bautista-Agut at underdog odds of +120 (bet365) in this match.
With Norrie, it's possible that he might have lost in the last round if not for his opponent retiring from the match. With Bautista-Agut, you have to love recent wins against Miomir Kecmamovic, Dominic Thiem, Lorenzo Sonego, and Roman Safiullin as measuring sticks. Those victories suggest that the Spaniard could be very competitive against a player of Norrie's caliber, especially since Norrie doesn't appear to be near his best right now. My recommendation is to take the underdog in this match at +120 (bet365).
Bautista-Agut vs Norrie prediction: Draw at the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Andrey Rublev was the top seed in this quarter. However, he has gone out of the draw early. The winner between Roberta Bautista-Agut and Cameron Norrie will face either Brandon Nakashima or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Our featured article: All previews for upcoming tennis matches!
