Up to Tennis Betting Trends

posted March 5, 2008 at 16:37 in Tennis Betting Trends

Dubai, UAE – The second round of the Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships serves up three particularly scintillating matchups – well two more so, than the third, actually – and the pricing will be no mean task for the odds makers. But what is an unenviable task for bookies, at the same time, is a veritable pot of gold for tennis bettors. So, which matchups am I referring to you may be wondering? The matchups of [3] Novak Djokovic vs. Fabrice Santoro, [6] Andy Roddick vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu and to a lesser extent, [8] Tomas Berdych vs. Feliciano Lopez Well, check out my free tennis picks below, and all will be revealed.

Tennis Betting Line: Feliciano Lopez -275 Tomas Berdych +190

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time

Tennis Prediction: The matchup of No.10 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and No. 41 Feliciano Lopez of Spain is a good one. Lifetime, they are tied at 2-2 in head-to-heads, and in 2007, they tied at 1-1, with Lopez taking the victory early in the season in Stuttgart (clay) and Berdych evening the score later in the season in Basel (hard). Berdych is the better play on paper, owing to his solid hard court game, big serve and overall higher ranking. The Czech enters the second round with an 8/3 record for the season, which includes a quarterfinal run in Sydney and a R16 appearance at the Australian Open.

No.41 Feliciano Lopez arrived in Dubai on the heels of a losing season at 1/4. After defeating a tough competitor in Janko Tipsarevic in his opening round match, Lopez improves to 2/4. Against Berdych, the Spaniard will attempt to win back-to-back matches, something he has not managed to achieve this year. On paper, at +190 he is a long shot bet. Lopez has a pretty good hard court game, and against Berdych he will be forced to raise the level of his game. I expect a close contest between the pair. Not overruling the possibility of an upset here, I still like the odds makers favorite to advance.

Tennis Free Pick: Berdych in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Andy Roddick vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time

Tennis Prediction: Another tight matchup in the second round is served up in this billing. No. 6 Andy Roddick and No. 14 Paul-Henri Mathieu are tied at 1-1 lifetime, with the most recent victory going the way of the American at Wimbledon last year. Although Roddick posted the win in straight sets, the last two sets were a tight affair with Roddick winning by only a handful of points in each.

Mathieu has a big game and with the recent addition of former World No.1 Mats Wilander to his coaching staff, an upset over the sixth seed is not beyond the Frenchman. Clearly even the odds makers would agree that the possibility of an upset is real as the line for this blockbuster matchup is presently not available (but will be soon).

Further strengthening this possibility is the fact that Roddick has suffered two demoralizing losses this season – a five set loss to No.27 Philipp Kohlschreiber in the R32 at the Australian Open and a straight set lost to No.47 Robin Soderling in Memphis last week. The question is whether Roddick can move past these concerning defeats and focus on his Dubai campaign.

Roddick was barely tested in the first round by Juan Carlos Ferrero, seizing the victory with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4. Of course, arriving into the second round is encouraging, but with Mathieu waiting, Roddick is not a sure bet for a quarterfinal berth. I expect a tough match between these two big players, with –dare I say it—a victory for the Frenchman.

Tennis Free Pick: Mathieu in three sets

Tennis Betting Line: Fabrice Santoro vs. Novak Djokovic

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time

Tennis Prediction: Another interesting matchup in the second round is presented in the bottom-half of the draw, with the billing of Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro against third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Santoro dismissed Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who finished runner-up in 2007, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round on Monday. The 35-year-old Frenchman Santoro improves to 6/4 for the season. Interestingly enough, the only ever meeting between Santoro and Djokovic was in 2007 at the AMS in Paris, where to the delight of the home crowd, Santoro upset the Serbian in straight sets.

After his breakout year in 2007,and carrying the momentum into the 2008 season by winning the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is a legitimate contender in any tournament he contests. One of the favourites for the title in Dubai, particularly as the dismissal of Roger Federer opens up the field, Djokovic will the bettors short-odds-on favorite in this matchup. Indeed he is the smart play.

That being said, there is a nagging feeling that Santoro – a wily and magical player—is worth the risk. Why not! I mean, don’t go betting the farm on him, but Santoro is a tricky player and could prove to be a difficult opponent for Djokovic who likes to hug the baseline – even further back – controlling and dictating play from the far depths of the court. Santoro, a great serve-and-volleyer, will try to catch Djokovic flat-footed with short smart plays, as face it, there is no better player than Djokovic when it comes to deep groundstrokes, and Santoro knows he would find himself quickly out of depth if he simply tries to trade groundstroke with the Serb.

I strongly feel this match could go either way. So for smart bettors take the favorite Djokovic, but for those who like to take a chance now and then, Santoro the underdog is well worth the bet.

Tennis Free Pick: Djokovic in straight sets

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.

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