Events / Ben Caudell / 26 March 2011 /

Jurgen Melzer is in action against Philipp Petzschner later on today and Ben Caudell predicts the worst for the tempestuous Austrian.

29 year-old Jurgen Melzer has clambered into the top 10 of the ATP World Rankings for the first time in his distinguished career after a successful 2010 which saw the Austrian reach the fourth round of the US Open and Wimbledon and amazingly the semi-finals of the French Open. However ,the pressures of retaining his top 10 position is in doubt due to his recent poor form that has seen the left-hander struggle to win two consecutive matches in his last four tournaments.

Today Melzer faces Philipp Petzschner of Germany; a player who could further damage the Austrian's credentials and continue the trend of seeded players being knocked out at the early stages of this competition.

There are good reasons for siding with the German in today's afternoon match-up. Firstly, Petzschner holds an important 1-0 head-to-head lead over his opponent, although this match was admittedly played on clay. Philipp won 7-6 6-2 in Monte Carlo, at Master Series event level.

Secondly, Petzschner has won four in a row against big servers, and has won four in a row when priced as a moderate underdog (2.0 to 3.0). He also reached the third round in Miami last year defeating Janko Tipsarevic and Ryan Sweeting in straight sets and has the advantage of having acclimatised to the tournament conditions with a first-round win over Florent Serra (6-1 7-5).

It is also important to note that Melzer has a poor record in Miami; he is currently 3-7 and has only once made it through to the round of 32... and that was way back in 2004. Go for the German at [2.44] in the match odds.

Recommended Bet:

Back Philipp Petzchner @ [2.44] to win match

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