Events / Ben Caudell / 29 March 2012 /

The consistent Caroline Wozniacki can put a stop to her fall in the rankings with victory over Maria Sharapova tonight whilst in the men's draw Mr Tenacity himself - David Ferrer - will push Novak Djokovic all the way, says Ben Caudell.

We have some appetising matches to look forward to tonight with both the ladies semi-final matches taking place and also the two remaining semi-final spots still up for grabs in the men's draw .Play kicks off at the later time of 18:00 this evening.
I start Thursday's tips off with the first of the women's semi-final matches between Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Maria Sharapova of Russia.

Wozniacki should be seriously considered as a back bet in the match odds after defeating home favourite Serena Williams in straights sets to reach the semi-final stage here in Miami for the first time in her career.

I believe that the Danish starlet and girlfriend of world number two golfer Rory McIlroy (who is yet to drop a set all week) has the consistency to overcome the somewhat erratic Sharapova, who has once again struggled on serve. She has made twenty seven double faults in four matches since the start of the tournament.

Wozniacki, who has two wins over her opponent on the U.S Hard-courts (Indian Wells 2011, US Open 2010) has shortened from [2.22] to [2.02] on Betfair - some bookmakers even have her as favourite at a shorter price of between [1.89] and [1.99]. She looks to have gained some much-needed confidence, having recently slipped to number six in the rankings. With the surface being slow and therefore beneficial towards the Dane, I would recommend jumping on at the current price, before she shortens even further.

I also have a slight inkling that David Ferrer could cause world number one Novak Djokovic a few problems late this evening under the floodlights and on a slow Stadium court surface.

Ferrer who has lost only two matches all year (Denis Istomin in Indian Wells and Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open) is a big price at [5.0] to defeat Novak, especially seeing as the dogged Spaniard has five wins already under his belt against the Australian Open winner. He's also fresh from sweeping aside Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 6-4 in his fourth round match in Miami.

The Spanish number two, who caused Djokovic a few difficulties when they came face to face in Melbourne at the start of the year, has won fourteen of his last fifteen matches overall, nine of his last ten in North America, six of his last seven in Miami and four of his last five at Master Series level.

Ferrer is a player who will never give up, whatever the circumstance; he will fight all the way to the bitter end and has always been a player worth backing due to the tenacity and confidence he exudes on court.

Not including best of five set matches, David Ferrer has won by the +4.5 Games handicap line six times from their nine head-to-head meetings, therefore the [1.95] on offer in this market represents a decent value bet.

Recommended Bets:

Back Caroline Wozniacki @[2.02] to defeat Maria Sharapova

Back Ferrer +4.5 Games @ [1.95] against Novak Djokovic

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