Events / Ben Caudell / 06 May 2011 /

Novak Djokovic is going for a 30th consecutive win in 2011 and even though home favourite David Ferrer is in opposition the Serb's march will go on, says Ben Caudell

David Ferrer (ESP) v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Can anyone stop the Serbinator's run of 29 unbeaten matches at the start of his 2011 campaign? Djokovic has equalled Ivan Lendl's record at the start of the 1986 season and is now gunning for Bjorn Borg (33 in 1980) and John McEnroe (42 in 1984) - the only two players to have compiled longer winning streaks to begin a season.
Home favourite David Ferrer is the man with the challenged of stopping Djokovic's hot streak and although the clay court specialist is yet to lose to the world No. 2 on the dirt, the stats and form of the Serbian cannot be ignored when deciding on a winner for this match.
Djokovic is the understandable favourite at [1.33] to win tonight with the Serbian's confidence sky-high, after conceding only five sets from 29 matches. In fact Djokovic's last loss came against Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London, November 2010.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series between these two retrievers 5-3 with his three losses coming on the clay courts. However the Serbian is a far better player now. The courts and conditions in Madrid favour the Australian Open champion, the high altitude means the ball moves faster and the stadium courts are practically indoors. This isn't your average red clay court event.
Ferrer has so far struggled to set Madrid alight with his red dirt heroics and looks slightly uncomfortable. The Spaniard was less than convincing against Sergiy Stakhovsky in the last 16 and did not win a game in the second set by qualifier Adrian Mannarino in the first round. Djokovic, on the other hand, dropped just eight points in the first set against Garcia Lopez and only two points all match on serve.
The Serbian's stats speak for themselves, he has won 35 matches in a row across 2010 and 2011, 14 in a row at Master Series level and eight in a row against top ten players, more importantly Ferrer has lost nine in a row when priced as a moderate underdog (3.0 - 6.0) therefore I predict that Djokovic will win this match, but at this short price my best bet is to back Djokovic to win by more than 3.5 Games.

Recommended Bet
Back Djokovic -3.5 Games @ [1.85]

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