Australian Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 27 January 2009 /

Another scorcher in prospect as two of the stars of the tournmanent so far meet and Ben Caudell recommends laying the world number one...

The Melbourne heat has taken another casualty, this time it was the turn of the reigning champion Novak Djokovic who, after losing the third set against Andy Roddick, retired from the Australian Open because of cramp. This was the fourth time in a Grand Slam that the 21-year-old has failed to finish the match and with the temperature reaching 40 degrees, conditions proved too much for the Serbian to bare.

Because Djokovic retired before the total games market had been determined, our bet to back over 41.5 Games was voided.

We were successful in our other two bets, backing Vera Zvonareva to win the match and also to win in straight sets. The stats never lie and having beaten Marion Bartoli on nine previous occasions (all bar one in straight sets) it was not surprising to see another straight sets win for the Russian 6-3, 6-0.

Today's Selections

Fernando Verdasco v Jo Wilfred Tsonga

With both players providing some of the best tennis we have seen at this year's tournament, this is a tough call. Fernando Verdasco has shown a lot of character recently, 'the chocker', as he was once known, has dispelled those theories with gutsy performances against Andy Murray and in matches in the lead-up to the Open. Tsonga still has his best tennis to come and this match will prove to be his biggest test so far. With this being a day match and no doubt another scorcher we could see another retirement, with the most likely culprit being Jo Wilfred Tsonga.

Selection: Back Fernando Verdasco @ 2.85 to win the match
Selection: Back Fernando Verdasco @ 1.96 +3.5 Games handicap

Rafael Nadal v Gilles Simon

These two have met three times before with Nadal 2-1 up in the head-to-head. Simon won their last match in Nadal's home country in three very close sets. Expect this match to go on early into the morning (UK Time) with extremely long rallies. The value is definitely with Gilles Simon, he won't give up easily so it is definitely worth Laying Nadal early on and then backing him at a higher price.

Selection: Lay Nadal @ [1.12] and Back him back if he reaches [1.3]

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