Events / Ben Caudell / 16 March 2009 /

Ben Caudell is hoping for a better day at Indian Wells and he believes that Nicolas Lapentti could be the man to deliver. Meanwhile, France meets Spain in the battle of the exceptional talents...

We were a little unlucky with yesterday's bet on laying Urszula Radwanska 2-0. The younger of the two Radwanska's, the other being Agnieska, won the first set 6-3 in no time at all but was broken early on in the second. Alexa Glatch then went into a commanding lead, breaking again a second time to go 5-2 up, Glatch served for the set at 5-3 where she had two set points. The pressure was obviously too much for the American and she eventually succumbed to the more experienced player 6-3 7-6.

Marat Safin , on the other hand, provided us with two winning (match odds and set betting) bets beating the Chilean Nicolas Massu in straight sets 6-3 7-6. He now faces the big serving giant in John Isner. Isner managed a great win, his first over a top 10 ranked player, defeating Gael Monfils in three uninspiring sets.

Today sees the start of the third round of the men's competition and the remaining third round matches for the women's. I will hopefully pull out a decent value bet for us to get involved in this evening.

Today's Selections:

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)

The value bet of the day has to go to the Ecuadorian veteran. After having a poor start to the year losing four first round matches on his favoured clay court surface, Lapentti has suddenly rediscovered his form again by winning his last four matches on hard court. With a straight set second round win over Robin Soderling at this week's Indian Wells and a tough three setter against fellow South American Santiago Giraldo, the current price of [4.5] is very tempting.

Kohlschreiber has a poor record in the United States, winning 25 and losing 27. He struggles against the defensive style player and Lapentti's consistent first service percentage could frustrate the German into making too many unforced errors.

Selection: Back Nicolas Lapentti @ [4.5] to win match
Lay Philipp Kohlschreiber @ [1.83] 2-0

Richard Gasquet (FRA) v Fernando Verdasco (SPA)

For me this will be the most exciting match to watch. Both players are exceptional talents, vying for supremacy amongst the elite. Fernando Verdasco proved that he is a player to be reckoned with after reaching the semi-final of this year's Australian Open, nearly upsetting his fellow country man and the eventual winner Rafael Nadal.

Gasquet has a 5-1 head-to-head record over the Spaniard but Verdasco won their most recent match back in 2007 and since then the left hander has overcome his fear of bottling matches and is now a lot stronger mentally.

Selection: Back Fernando Verdasco @ [1.7] to win match

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