The second round of the Monte Carlo Masters starts on Wednesday with interesting matches which provide tennis punters some good betting options.

Mainly two matches attracted my attention and made me decide about recommending two good bets for this round.

Tommy Robredo, currently ranked 30 in the ATP rankings, will play Fernando Verdasco, ranked 8. This all-Spanish clash is one of the most interesting matches of the second round and is expected to be a good tennis match.

Their head-to-head records indicate a balanced match. They met ten times and each won 5 times. But veteran Robredo is well-known as a clay specialist. His overall records on clay show an impressive record of 235 matches won and 103 lost. Also, in his matches against Verdasco, Robredo leads 3-0 on clay with a clear win in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Bastad tournament in 2010.

Robredo is quoted as a slight favorite and is matched at odds around 1.75-1.80 to win against Verdasco. This is a great bet considering tradition and also form. Robredo has a 10-2 record on clay this year while Verdasco lost the only match he played on clay at Acapulco against T. Bellucci by the end of February.

The other match to be considered is Andy Murray versus Radek Stepanek. Murray is a favorite and is quoted at odds around 1.40-1.45 to win this meeting but I wouldn’t trust him to overcome his much more experienced opponent.

Although he is still ranked 4th in the ATP rankings, Murray showed a lot of inconsistency this season. The Scot started the season well, finishing as a runner-up at Australian Open, but his next performances were very disappointing. Murray was knocked out in the 1st round at Rotterdam and in second round of both Indian Wells and Miami tournaments. He seems to have lost some of his confidence and his game needs improvement if he wants to stay in top 5 this year.

Murray leads 3-1 in the head-to-head meetings but they have never met on clay. This is an important detail which has to be added to Murray’s lack of form as key factors when betting on this match.

Betting on Stepanek to win at least one set looks like one of the best bets provided by this second round.

Recommended betting

Back Robredo to beat Verdasco at odds around 1.80 or higher

Lay Murray to win 2-0 that is betting on Stepanek to win at least one set at odds above 1.80.

Betting on Stepanek to win at 3.20 could also be a good bet.