French Open Daily Bets: Back another big upset today

French Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 02 June 2010 / 1

" class="free_bet_btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">

Novak Djokovic plays Jurgen Melzer today

"The best bet will be to back the handicap and total games markets. Each set will be close with few breaks and the value lies with Melzer."

Last year's champion has gone and Ben Caudell believes we could see another shock at Roland Garros today as Novak Djokovic faces a tough encounter with the 22nd seed.

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) v Novak Djokovic(SRB)

The clay court form of Jurgen Melzer at this year's French Open has surprised many - although not myself, as I backed him at [1000.00] - with some uncharacteristically assured performances. Suddenly, the Austrian has real hope of reaching his first ever Grand Slam semi-final.

If Jurgen Melzer serves as well as he has done all tournament against Novak Djokovic, this match could be a lot tighter than people expect. The 22nd seeded player in the draw has the tournament's second highest % of first serve points won (of the players still remaining in the tournament) with 79%, Berdych remains top with 88%. He leads the tournament on second serve points won with 61% and is above Djokovic in first and second return points won overall.

The fact that Djokovic has had little in the way of serious opposition to reach the quarter-finals but has managed to drop a set in three of his four matches, leads me to believe that the injury rumours about Djokovic may have some substance to it. Novak often struggles with his breathing in hotter climates, but with the windy and rainy conditions in Paris, this should not become an issue. Despite having nasal surgery previously, and time off a few weeks ago to manage his allergies, the Serbian still appears to be struggling.

I'd love to see another big upset today and will be urging on Melzer; Djokovic has won only one of his last four matches against lefthanders; he is, however, an exceptional talent and has previous experience of reaching the latter stages of Grand Slam events. The best bet will be to back the handicap and total games markets. Each set will be close with few breaks and the value lies with Melzer.

Recommended bets:

Back Melzer +6.5 Games @ [1.7]
Back Over 35.5 Games @ [1.74]
Back Jurgen Melzer @ [4.4] to win match (small bet)

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

(1)

phil Burns | 02 June 2010

Ben your recent picks have been absolute rubbish but lovely return to form last night, superb call !