Opportunity knocks for consistent Goffin

ATP Mexican Open
Sky Sports 2, midnight Monday

A strong field has assembled in Acapulco for the Mexican Open, but with lots of players having one eye on impending events in Indian Wells and Miami, the title is not certain to go to one of the top players.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the top two seeds, but Djokovic could face Juan Martin del Potro in his second outing, while Nadal will use this as a springboard for the first Masters Series 1000 tournament of the season in California.

Del Potro could figure, but as third favourite his price is way shorter than when he upset Djokovic in the Rio Olympics last summer.

The upshot is that there could be an opportunity for a player like David Goffin to go through the draw unbeaten. The Belgian was runner-up to in-form Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Rotterdam recently and his Mexican trip could provide the chance to go one better.

Dominic Thiem should derive confidence from his fine Rio title victory - the Austrian did not drop a set last week - while Alexandr Dolgopolov and Borna Coric could test seeds Marin Cilic and John Isner in the third quarter of the draw.

Recommendation
D Goffin
1pt 14-1 Betway, Coral

WTA Mexican Open
BT Sport 2, 10pm Monday

It's amazing to see Mirjana Lucic-Baroni seeded first for the women's singles in Acapulco, but that's her reward for reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January.

That was a wonderful moment for the seasoned Croat, but she is far from guaranteed to reproduce her Melbourne form in the Mexican Open.

Belinda Bencic is Lucic-Baroni's first opponent too, so there is little incentive to back the event's highest-ranked performer. But anyone thinking of supporting Bencic should remember that she is still fighting her way to form after a lengthy battle with injuries.

It's no surprise to see Coral make Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig 6-1 joint-favourites and this could be a decent opportunity for both players, particularly Bouchard, to shine. They are in the same half of the draw, though, so there is little reason to punt heavily.

Second seed Kristina Mladenovic is still basking in the glory of her St Petersburg triumph. The Frenchwoman can be superb on her day but she remains dreadfully inconsistent and may struggle to add to her solitary title this week.

Recommendation
E Bouchard
1pt 6-1 Coral