ATP Indian Wells Prediction: Monaco vs. Ljubicic

Indian Wells, California – Croatian Ivan Ljubicic beat Novak Djokovic yesterday to book a spot in the quarterfinals. The veteran 31-year-old is only two victories away from a possible final appearance. Standing in his way is Argentinean Juan Monaco who topped Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to earn his place in the final eight.

Tennis betting action is already in full swing as BetUS bookies released a full menu of tennis betting lines and odds on this enticing matchup. Here is the lowdown on the action.

Tennis Betting Line:

Juan Monaco +2  -115   +140   23½  O -120   U -120  
Ivan Ljubicic  -2  -125   -180 23½  O -120   U -120  

First Set Line:

Juan Monaco  +125   9½ O -165   U +125  
Ivan Ljubicic     -165   9½ O -165   U +125  

Match Time: 05:30 PM Eastern Time Thursday March 18, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Ivan Ljubicic and Juan Monaco are level 1-1 head-to-head lifetime. Both encounters were on clay however and the last meeting came in 2008. Their mark is out of date and in some respects not applicable, as this will be their first meeting on hard.

Ljubicic has the surface edge and as such enters this match as the slight favourite at -180 to win outright. Monaco is the mere underdog at +140, so he has been given his due consideration here for punching above his weight class on a least favoured surface.

Very little separates these two players in the rankings. They are in fact only a ranking apart with Ljubicic at No.26 and Monaco at No.27.

In every respect, this match is shaping up to be a tough contest. Whichever way you slice the match there is value. However, if I were playing with house money I would back Ljubicic. He has the surface edge and in my opinion the serve will be his weapon against Monaco. If he uses both advantages to effect he should come out on top.

Monaco is a grinder though so this will not be a cakewalk for Ljubicic. I expect Monaco to hang tight and therefore there could be value on the handicap at +2 -115. However, the spread is low so I would recommend backing Ljubicic on the spread at -2 -125, especially if you are confident he will win.

For the totals, the Over 23 ½ -120 has a nice ring to it and could be the outcome if this match goes to three sets.

If you enjoyed this article then get full access to all our other features plus a 50% bonus when you sign up with us by clicking on this link