Monte Carlo Masters 2018 Betting Odds: Rafael Nadal To Capture His 11th Title?

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal is set to return to a court that he has dominated, as the Monte Carlo Masters kicked off on Saturday. Nadal, who has won the tournament 10 times, awaits the winner of No. 53 Aljaz Bedene and a qualifier in the Round of 32.

Absent from the tournament is world No. 2 Roger Federer, who has decided to skip the clay-court season. The 36-year-old is expected to stick to mainly grass-court tournaments with his eye on Wimbledon this summer.

Nadal, who has won a staggering 53 clay-court tournaments, is the overwhelming favorite in Monte Carlo, according to betting site Sky Bet. The Spaniard, who only dropped one set in Monte Carlo in 2017, has 8/11 odds of capturing the title despite some big names in the tournament.

After Nadal is burgeoning star Alexander Zverev at 10/1. The 20-year-old German is ranked No. 4 in the world. In 2017, Nadal cruised to a 6-1 6-1 win over Zverev in the third round of Monte Carlo. Nadal and Zverev could meet in this year's final.

The rest of the field may not present much of a problem for Nadal.

Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic both have 14/1 odds. Djokovic is looking to regain his form after several setbacks. Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the quarterfinals.

World No. 3 Marin Cilic has 16/1 odds. At the Australian Open, Nadal retired from his match against Cilic in the quarterfinals. Nadal said he is looking to put his leg-injury problems aside and start fresh.

“I am eager to start playing, since I have only played one tournament this year, in Australia, but I retired," the 31-year-old said.

“So it feels like I am starting not just the clay season, but the 2018 season.”

Nadal made his eagerly anticipated return last week, leading Spain to the Davis Cup semi-finals.

Nadal owns just a 100-point advantage over Federer in the ATP rankings. He has 8,770 points, compared to Federer's 8,670 points. Cilic, 29, has 4,985 points and is followed close behind by Zverev at 4,635.