Match Previews / Ben Caudell / 26 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Fresh from having predicted outsider Lleyton Hewitt's win yesterday, Ben Caudell tells us why another seed may be in for a torrid time as clay-court specialist Tommy Robredo locks horns with the up-and-coming Dudi Sela.

Tommy Robredo (SPA) v Dudi Sela (ISR) -

Up until now, Dudi Sela has quietly gone about his business, shooting up the rankings without anyone really taking any notice. He is currently at a career high of 46 in the world rankings and could go even higher if he were to defeat the Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo in today's match-up.

In the year's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, Sela managed to get through three rounds of qualifying in order to make the main draw. Sela then went on to defeat Rainer Schuettler (the 30th seed), and Victor Hanescu in the second round, before losing to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the third round.

The Australian Open was the start of the Israeli's rise and since than he has managed to reach the Semi Finals of Memphis, once again having to qualify, and the quarter finals of the Ordina Open a week ago. He now finds himself in the position of reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career and has a great chance of achieving this. Why, I hear you ask?

Firstly Sela has two wins under his belt over the Spaniard, both played last year and both won in straight sets, a 6-4 6-1 win in Beijing and a 7-6 6-1 win in Miami. Secondly, Robredo has never been past the third round at Wimbledon, his game is ill suited to the grass and he struggled to get past Stefan Koubek in the previous round, winning the match in five sets. He will find it harder against the youngster, especially if he doesn't capitalise early on. There is a lot of value in backing Dudi Sela and his price is almost certain to come in prior to the match kicking off at approx 15:15

Selection:

Back Dudi Sela @ [2.24] to win the match - large bet
Back Dudi Sela 3-1 @ [6.6] small bet

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) v Marion Bartoli (FRA) -

I have been very impressed with Schiavone at this year's Wimbledon and she is showing just how resilient she can be in the face of adversity. She played extremely well against Aleksandra Wozniak in the first round, coming back from the brink of defeat against a decent grass courter who is one to look out for in the future. She also managed to get through what is probably one of the toughest mental battles on the circuit (Michelle Larcher de Brito's Fog horn of a grunt) in two close tie-breaks sets.

Today she will face the 2007 runner-up Marion Bartoli whom she has a 3-1 head-to-head series lead over. All four matches have gone to a final set so expect this one to follow suit with the value residing with the Italian.

Selection: Lay Bartoli 2-0 @ [2.20]
Best Bet - Back Dudi Sela @2.24 to win the match (Men's Singles Draw)