US Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 08 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Ben Caudell says the British No.1 has the game to get past Cilic tonight and will be backing him to do so

"I believe that this match will be a straightforward win for Murray and will therefore be backing him to win in straight sets and by more than 6.5 games."

Marin Cilic (CRO) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Last year's finalist Andy Murray is looking in good shape to reach at least the same stage this year.
The number two seed tonight has to get past a player he has overcome three times before, their most recent encounter a straight sets victory 7-5 7-6 6-1 at the 2009 French Open.
Marin Cilic struggles against players ranked inside the top 10 having only one win from his last nine. His recent form suggests that he will find it hard to hold serve against the so called best returner in the game. Murray loves playing big servers; he unravelled Taylor Dent's serves with considerable ease winning 55% of break points. The ATP World No.2 also managed to put a stunning 90% of Dent's first serves back into play.
For Cilic to do well in this match he will have to take advantage of Murrays weak second serve, which is begging to be attacked at times. There is simply no value in backing the Scot at such short odds, I believe that this match will be a straightforward win for Murray and will therefore be backing him to win in straight sets and by more than 6.5 games.
Selection: Back Andy Murray -6.5 Games @ [1.9]
Back Murray 3-0 @ [1.7]

Flavia Pennetta (ITA) v Serena Williams (USA)
Flavia Pennetta is still on a high having bravely fought out a win against Vera Zvonareva, saving match points, in the previous round. The Italian has been having the most amazing year so far especially during the second half of the season. Ranked for the first time in the top 10 of the Sony Ericson World rankings (the first Italian to ever accomplish this on the women's circuit), Pennetta is not the kind of player to be overwhelmed when she faces Serena Williams tonight in the Arthur Ashe Stadium and will instead relish the chance of defeating the American in her own back yard.
The pressure will surely be on Williams shoulders tonight, having seen so many seeds fall on this Grave yard court , this would be the icing on the cake if the reigning champion was to go out at this stage of the tournament.
The last time these two met was in March 2008 at the Miami Premier Event. Serena won this match in the three sets, however Pennetta has improved dramatically since then and has the tactical ability to mix the play, using the drop shot, approaching the net and frustrating the all round power play that Serena relies upon to dismantle her opponents . The value is definitely with the Italian and I can see this match being decided in a three set thriller.
Selection: Back Pennetta +5.5 Games @ [1.82]
Back Flavia Pennetta @ [7.0] to win match (small bet)
Back three sets @ [3.5]

Tags: Andy Murray, Flavia Pennetta, Marin Cilic, Serena Williams, US Open