/ / 13 August 2007 /

Perfecseun takes a look at today's glamour tie

Marat Safin vs Nicolas Kiefer:

This first round tie is a battle of the unfit. Marat is still in his recovery process and that is evident in his tennis form. Kiefer as well has been off the circuit for a while and his comeback started at Wimbledon but he was stopped by Djokovic and last week he had to withdraw against Stepanek but he would have lost anyway as Stepanek was last week's in-form player.

Head to head for the pair reads 3-3 and their last meeting was in 2005 in Dubai, which Kiefer won in 2 sets, but that does not tell the story as it was a real tug of war for him, 7-6 6-4. Coming into this one, Safin should be favourite as Kiefer´s injury worry still looms. Safin is not a trustworthy player these days but he is desperate and eager to put his career back online. Last week in Montreal he was pretty unlucky to face Nadal in his second round match but he did show signs of his former self.

Safin is the slight favourite but the Russian has a good game to see him through a couple of rounds on hard court against most players on the ATP tour and he should comfortably see off Kiefer though it will be close and could possibly go the distance.

Suggested Bet: Lay N. Kiefer to win 2-0 sets @ 3.7

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