US Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 01 September 2010 /

Not only does Andy Murray face a tough opponent in the first round at Flushing Meadow, he will also have to battle soaring temperatures, says Ben Caudell.

Andy Murray (GBR) v Lukas Lacko (SVK)

Andy Murray has vowed not to represent his little known opponent as he kicks off his US Open campaign today against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia.

The match represents a tough first round test for Murray as he prepares himself for yet another Grand Slam title challenge where he will try to recapture the form he showed at the U.S Open in 2008 and reach another Grand Slam final. Unfortunately for the feisty Scot he's been let down again by American tournament officials who have decided not to give Murray the evening's top billing and instead have given him the worst possible time of day to play - a 1pm (UK 6pm) scheduled start with temperatures forecast to reach over 100 degrees fahrenheit.

It was only last week at the Cincinnati Masters that Murray suffered with the heat during his loss to Mardy Fish, having pleaded the previous evening with organisers to let him play later. However, Murray was satisfied with his performances both at the Toronto Masters, where he retained his Rogers Cup title, and in Cincinnati. He's playing some of the best tennis I have seen him play all year and is a worthy second favourite in the winner market.

Lukas Lacko, is playing in his first U.S Open tournament main draw event and will be slightly nervous at the prospect of facing Murray here today, the 22-year-old ranked 71 in the world, considers hard courts his favourite surface and his forehand and serve is his main strengths. He recorded decent wins over Marcos Baghdatis at Wimbledon this year and Lleyton Hewitt on hard in Atlanta. Lacko is 5-5 on hard courts and the same at Grand Slam level; he has lost five in a row when priced as a heavy underdog, compared with Murray, who has won 10 in a row when priced as a big favourite.

Murray has far too much quality in his game for an upset to happen this evening, although in my opinion, each set will be reasonably close and competitive, with a small possibility of Murray dropping one set. Therefore my best bet is to back over's on the Total Games market and +9.5 on the handicap market in favour of the Slovakian.

Selection: Back Lacko +9.5 Games @ [1.75]
Back Over 27.5 Games @ [1.9]

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