South Africa Tennis Open: Monfils and Ferrer in Action
by Nila Amerova
Johannesburg, South Africa – Top seed Gael Monfils and second seed David Ferrer headline first round action at the SA Tennis Open on Tuesday. BetUS has opened its books on their matchups, along with many others.
Here is a rundown of Monfils and Ferrer’s clashes, what tennis betting fans can find trading right now.
Tennis Betting Line: Karol Beck +500 David Ferrer -1000
First Set Line: Karol Beck+400 David Ferrer -700
Match time: 03:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 2, 2010
Tennis Betting Verdict: Spaniard David Ferrer enters his first round clash against Karol Beck as the significant favourite in the market, listed at a firm -1000. He is also favoured to take the first set, offered at -700. Underscoring those favourite odds is a distinct ranking and head-to-head edge over his opponent, and all that entails.
World No. 18 Ferrer beat No. 131 Karol Beck of Slovakia seven years ago in Metz, 6-1, 6-2. So their record is a tad old. Unimportantly so. Ferrer is obviously the more accomplished of the two players; no question the match is on his racquet.
Ferrer is after a disappointing second round exit at the Aussie Open. He lost in five sets to Baghdatis after taking the two set lead in their encounter and serving for the match in the third set tiebreaker. Beck, on the other hand, has failed to make it into the main draw of an event this season – losing in the third round of qualification for Doha and the first rounds in Sydney and Australia.
Tennis Free Picks: So in terms of betting, Ferrer to win outright is the correct play but at -1000 it is not exactly a bank buster. Ferrer can be slow to start at times so if there were any value in this match it would be to risk a wager (small though) on Beck to take the first set at +400.
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Tennis Betting Line: Gael Monfils -1200 Dominik Hrbaty +600
First Set Line: Gael Monfils-500 Dominik Hrbaty +300
Match time:03:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 2, 2010
Tennis Betting Verdict: Frenchman Gael Monfils takes on veteran Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia in the first round. The pair have met four times in their career, splitting the meetings evenly. Three encounters came in 2005, during which year Monfils won two and Hrbaty won the remaining encounter. In 2006, they crossed paths at the ATP Madrid Masters R64 wherein Hrbaty earned a win on Monfils retirement.
A lot has changed in the careers of both players. Monfils has climbed the ranks into the top 20, while Hrbaty is semi-retired (32-years-old) and now ranks No.154 in the world (once ranked as high as No.12 in 2004).
The market reflects their distinct standing in the ATP, listing Monfils as the whopping favourite at -1200 and Hrbaty at large +600 underdog odds.
Yet, this match might not be as straightforward as the market anticipates. Hrbaty is a skilful player and shouldn’t be underestimated because he is a seasoned chicken, with limited action in recent years. Monfils is just the kind of unpredictable favourite – at times sensational and others wholly unfocused.
Monfils is after a third round exit at the Aussie Open, dumped in four sets by John Inser. Hrbaty warmed up his game at a Challenger event last week where he reached the quarters.
Tennis Free Picks: Monfils is the player that should emerge victorious from this match and the tennis betting trend will side with him for the victory in spite of his untouchable odds. There are intangibles however, which are hard to predict and could see this match could go against the grain. This leads me believe there is value in Hrbaty for the upset – even if there is only a slim chance of it happening. Of course, that is a play for risk-averse tennis bettors. Hrbaty to take the first set at +300 is not so a long shot.
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