Posted on
3/7/2008 6:34:01 PM
Tennis Betting – Barclay’s Dubai Championships Final Roddick vs. Lopez
By Nila Amerova
Dubai, UAE – When men’s tennis is contested, then World No.1 Roger Federer, No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.3 Novak Djokovic are by-and-large expected to be at its forefront. It was so at the Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships, as the World’s Top 3 players were slotted to fill three of the four semifinal berths before the tournament got underway at the start of the week. But when the semifinal kicked-off today, only one of the big names had made it that far – Novak Djokovic – and only that far, as at the close of the semifinal round, Djokovic was the last of the trio to join the humbled parade of top players exiting.
Seriously, who would have thought almost a week ago, with only a few hours before the final in Dubai we would be discussing a billing that did not hold either of the Top 3 elite? Well, here we are doing just that, and those of you who took a chance on the heartbreak kid Andy Roddick, tipped at +200 underdog odds by BetUS over Novak Djokovic (-300) in the semifinal today must be patting yourselves on the back, preening with delight, as your wager paid out two-fold. Good for you!
Now with only a victory away from the title in his Dubai debut, Roddick enters the final as the odds makers’ short-odds-on favorite over the surprise finalist in the top-half of the draw – unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. So with one bet away from a winner being crowned in Dubai, here is a breakdown of their head-to-head matchup and my take on who will take home the silverware.
Tennis Betting Line: Andy Roddick vs. Feliciano Lopez
Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Saturday March 8, 2008
Feliciano Lopez
No.41 Feliciano Lopez fell in the opening round of his first ATP level tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Lopez posted his first match win of the season, but followed up with a second round loss. In Marseille and Rotterdam, Feliciano suffered back-to-back losses in the first round. Arriving in Dubai with a 1/4 record, Lopez was in no uncertain terms a long shot bet, and owing to his losing record he was hardly a likely pick amongst tennis bettors during the course of the Dubai Championships.
However, the struggling Lopez enjoyed a turn-around this week in Dubai that saw him defy the odds and dispatch in succession Janko Tisparevic (6-3, 4-6, 6-4), eighth seed Tomas Berdych (6-2, 7-5), fourth seed David Ferrer (6-4, 6-3) and fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko (6-4, 4-6, 7-5).
The 26-year-old Spaniard owns only one career ATP title – Vienna (2004); and has finished runner-up three-times in his career – Dubai (2004), New Haven (2005) and Gstaad (2006).
Lopez improved to 5-4 for the season and 6-19 against Top 5 players, after edging past Davydenko in today’s semifinal. Two of his wins against Top 5 players came during this week in Dubai, which could go a long way to give him some confidence against Andy Roddick in the final.
Andy Roddick
Roddick is contesting his fourth ATP main draw of the year, and after his huge victory over Djokovic today, he improves to 14/2 for the season. Roddick lifted the title in San Jose last month, his best result thus far in a tournament. Roddick owns 25 career ATP titles and tomorrow he will vie for his 26th title.
Roddick enters the final without having dropped at set this week, including a quarterfinal upset over No.2 Rafael Nadal and a semifinal upset over No.3 Novak Djokovic. Roddick leads 3-0 lifetime over Lopez, the most recent victory in 2007 at the ATP Masters Series in Indian Wells, which was a close affair in favor of the American at 7-6(5), 6-4.
Tennis Prediction: Lopez was an underdog in every single one of his matches in Dubai; he arrives in the final yet again an underdog. So is he bankable? Indeed, he is a bet worth making. Lopez trails 0-3 lifetime against Roddick, but all three were tight matches with close scores and were contested on hard. Clearly, Lopez can keep up with the big-serving American on his favorite surface, and in their three previous contests, he has come close, but not quite enough to upset Roddick. After defying the odds all week long, one more upsetting feat is hardly unlikely. After all, Lopez has nothing to lose.
Both players have been impressive in their own right through the rounds in Dubai. For Roddick, the quarterfinal was a first win over a No.2 ranked player in four years, in the semifinal, he evened the score with Djokovic, after losing to him at the Rogers Cup last year. Over the years, Roddick has received a lot of flak for being not good enough/a one-dimensional player/ just a big- server/ a one-hit wonder... and so forth. For the time being, perhaps his performance this week will silence his critics.
I will be the first to admit that I have not always been A-Rod’s biggest fan, but there can only be one winner tomorrow and my pick is Roddick. Not because Roddick deserves it more – for a happy ending to Lopez’s Cinderella run would be equally fitting – but at the same time he does!
Tennis Free Picks: Roddick in straight sets
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Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.