Australian tennis player Jordan Thompson will face Spain's Jaume Munar in the second round at the 2024 ATP Barcelona tennis tournament. The 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell is a 500-series event on the ATP Tour, a tournament that is played on clay. Thompson is the seeded player in this match, however, he is also the underdog, priced at +200 (bet365). My Thompson vs Munar prediction is that the former player will cause an upset in this match as an underdog.
Schedule: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Jordan Thompson vs Jaume Munar Head-to-Head Series
The Thompson vs Munar h2h is 0-1 in favor of the latter player. They met at the 2021 French Open in the opening round, a match that Munar won in four sets. The match was fairly competitive, with two tiebreakers in it. Munar posted a 6-7, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory that day, almost three years ago.
On current rankings, Thompson is the World No. 33 while Munar is the 73rd-ranked player. Thompson looks a bit better so far this season, as he is No. 24 on year-to-date rankings.
The Draw: Right-click/Open the link in a new tab for the draw for the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Jordan Thompson's Recent Matches and Results
Thompson opened his clay-court season in Houston. He went 2-1 in the draw, losing in the event's quarterfinals to Frances Tiafoe in a competitive loss.
The Aussie has a major highlight this season. Thompson won the ATP Los Cabos draw in February. This victory marks the only career title for the veteran.
Last season on clay, Thompson only entered three events and went 0-3 in his matches. He entered hard-court challengers while 'preparing' for the French Open last season, which you do not see from very many players. He appears to be taking the surface more seriously this season.
Jaume Munar's Recent Matches and Results
Munar enjoyed a straight-sets victory in the first round, posting a 6-3, 6-1 win over a Japanese player. But Munar only went 1-4 on aces to double faults so it seems like he had a lenient opponent.
Last week, Munar was in Monte-Carlo. He won two qualifying matches before losing in the first round to Roman Safiullin. Munar went 1-1 in the Marrakech draw two weeks ago, losing to Matteo Berrettini in the second round. Munar entered some clay-court events earlier this season in Latin America. He went 5-4 in Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio, and Santiago combined. These second and third-round matches are usually a problem for him.
Jaume Munar
Serving ability: 67th/clay/last 52 weeks
Return-of-serve ability: 13th/clay/last 52 weeks
Thompson vs Munar Prediction: Thompson to win
This match should be considered a coin toss. I think the value is with the underdog Thompson at +200 (bet365). That he won two matches on clay in Houston is a little bit head-turning when you look back at his 2023 season. Also, he was competitive against Frances Tiafoe in the match he lost. Thompson should be competitive against the much lower-ranked Munar.
The Spaniard is not a great server on clay. However, he does do well as a clay-court returner. Still, it's hard to find a clay-court win that would suggest that he should be a moderate favorite in this match. My recommendation is to take Thompson at +200. Bettors that want to go for something can take the Aussie to win 2-0 at +450 (bet365).
Munar vs Thompson prediction: Draw at the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
The winner of this match might face Casper Ruud. He is up against Alexandre Muller in a second-round match. There is a chance that Ruud can be targeted for an upset this week as he was very active last week and might be tiring.
