Tim can roar one last time against Ljubicic

Davis Cup Betting / Editor / 20 September 2007 / Leave a Comment

Betfair's Mandeep previews the key clashes of Great Britain's tie against Croatia

This week I'll be looking ahead to this weekend crucial Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Croatia. This tie will be played on Wimbledon's number 1 grass court, and all matches will be best of 5 sets. Let's have a closer look at three of the upcoming matches:

Andy Murray v Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic has improved a great deal this year, taking some notable scalps during the season. Since his good run at the Artois Championships, he has had some tough draws, but has played some good tennis. Last week he defeated Nikolay Davydenko at the China Open, so his form cannot be too bad!

Grass is an awkward surface for most players to play on, simply because they do not have many opportunities to develop their game. However, Cilic showed at Queens this year he is a capable grass court player, defeating Henman, Falla and Tsonga before losing to Andy Roddick in the quarters.

Obviously Andy Murray will be heavy favourite to win the match. His confidence (along with his bank Balance) will have received a timely boost by winning last weekend's Betfair Turbo Tennis tournament. Playing at home, with a sizeable crowd giving vocal support will be a great advantage for the British players. Murray has shown glimpses of his talent on grass during previous Wimbledons. Despite his lack of his recent match practice, I expect his price to be around 1.3.

At this price, I would advise laying Murray with a view to backing him at a higher price. Murray's matches are rarely straightforward affairs, and it is still unclear how much his lack of tennis will affect him over a 5 set match.

Tim Henman v Ivan Ljubicic

The big serving Croat has all the attributes to be an excellent grass court player, but always seems to struggle on the surface. Ljubicic has sound ground strokes and a good volley, but often appears lazy on court. Despite winning the Ordina Open (also on grass), Ljubicic struggled at Wimbledon, eventually suffering a loss in the 3rd round to Paul-Henri Mathieu. Although he reached the semi finals of the China Open this week, his form all year has not been as good as last year.

Henman obviously loves playing at Wimbledon, and showed this year he is still a good player in defeating Carlos Moya in an epic 5 set match at SW19. Henman still has one of the best volleys in the game, and showed during the recent US Open he still has the ability to compete at this level.

I expect the market to favour Ljubicic in this match, and believe the price will be around 1.65. If you can lay at this price, that would definitely be my bet of the tie. Knowing how Henman responds to the incredible support he receives at Wimbledon, I firmly believe he will come through, most probably in another 5 set epic! The price on Henman 3-2 in the set Betting market may also be worth looking into.

Doubles Match

The Murray brothers will be teaming up to take on Croatia. They will have spent a lot of time practising together whilst growing up and will know each other's games inside out. Jamie Murray has been fantastic all year in doubles, first teaming up with Eric Butorac, and winning the mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jelena Jankovic. He showed during that tournament his fantastic ability as a doubles player. Jamie has a good serve, backed up with a solid volley. Andy himself posses a sound volley, and I expect the GB team to prevail no matter who is the Croatian opposition.