Events / Ben Caudell / 01 April 2009 /

Ben Caudell expects the serve to dominate today's quarter-finals as Jo Wilfred Tsonga bids for a second win of the season over Novak Djokovic.

There were mixed fortunes for yesterday's daily tips. Fernando Verdasco cruised past Czech No. 18 seed Radek Stepanek 6-2 6-2 .

Backed @ [1.5] at the start of the match, the Spaniard was once again prolific on serve, winning 77% of first serves and an astounding 75% of second serves. He will now face Andy Murray in a quarter-final showdown that has all the makings of another classic.

Murray, who will be seeking revenge for his Australian Open loss to the Spaniard, will fancy his chances in this match and will go one step closer to reaching the number three spot in the world rankings (he has to reach the final to achieve this).

Svetlana Kuznetsova fought off a strong challenge from our second tip of the day Caroline Wozniacki. This match was a rollercoaster ride, not just for the players but also for the punters who got involved. Kuznetsova looked set to record a comfortable victory as she led 6-4 5-2 with a double break advantage, however Wozniacki hit back to win five of the next six games, saving three match points on the way, to level the match and force a third set.

More than £500,000 was matched at [1.02] on Kuznetsova during the second set. At the start of the third set she went as high as [2.40] giving ample opportunity to trade. Kuznetsova completed the match in just less than three hours 6-4 6-7 6-1

Today's Selections

Jo Wilfred Tsonga (FRA) v Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Since the start of 2008 season these two have played each other five times, with Tsonga leading the head-to-head 4-1. Djokovic's only win came in the 2008 Australian Open final, where he won his first ever Grand Slam title. The No.3 Frenchman (behind No.8 Simon, No. 10 Monfils) has so far this season recorded the second most wins on the ATP World Tour 25-4, behind Roddick's 26-4. He has won two titles this year, Marseille and Johannesburg, and has also won the most tie-breaks 15-5.

Djokovic has had a mixed start to the season. The world number three comes into the quarter-finals with a 20-7 2009 record (20-5 on hard). Last week, as reigning champion of the BNP Paribas Open he lost to Andy Roddick in two comfortable sets, he also has losses against Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and most importantly Tsonga. I have to favour the Frenchman in this match, Tsonga is going to win the vast majority of his service games, he hasn't been broken all week and with the advantage of their head-to-heads he should make it through to the semi-finals, this won't be easy though.

Selection: Back Tsonga @ [2.18] to win match

Andy Roddick (USA) v Roger Federer (SWI)

Roger Federer leads the head-to-heads 18-3 with the majority of wins on hard court.
Roddick relies heavily on his service game and often struggles if he is broken. Surprisingly, out of the last 11 matches they have played against each other, Roger Federer has hit 137 aces compared to Andy Roddick's 110, also the last seven head-to-heads have seen the Swiss master hit more aces than the Roddick on four occasions, they have tied two, and Roddick has won one. I can see this match becoming a battle of the serve and therefore believe that there will be at least one tie break. The last nine matches have seen six tie breaks being played so this market will be worth a small bet.

Selection: Back Roger Federer @ [1.95] most aces market
Back the tie break @ 2.5

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