Tennis
2010-02-07 - PBZ Zagreb Indoors M vs
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Tennis : Croatia
Preview
Marin Cilic is the top seed here and will be looking to defend the title he won 12 months ago after his exploits in the Australian Open where he reached his first Grand Slam Semi Final. The young Croatian is certain to be a threat at all the Grand Slam events this season, although there has to be question marks regarding his fitness for this tournament.
Cilic has been handed a draw with a couple of fairly straightforward matches, but is then likely to face fellow Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the Quarter Final.
The big serving Karlovic has made a strong start to this season as he looks to reverse his slide down the rankings. He reached the Quarter Final in Doha before a 4th round showing at the Australian Open, his best result there. Karlovic looks very much likely to reach the Quarter Final with Cilic, their first ever meeting.
The potential Semi Final opponent should be the winner of the Jurgen Melzer and Evgeny Korolev match, a potential seeded Quarter Final match. Melzer is particularly good on an indoor court but did lose to Korolev here last season.
The bottom half of the draw is headed up by Ivan Ljubicic. Another Croation, he is a real threat on his day although his best years are behind him now. The serve is still difficult to break but he can be someone that we take on here.
I think the main person to follow in the bottom half of the draw is Viktor Troicki, a young Serbian who has upped his game over the last 18 months. He has already made a Semi Final at 1 event this season and is moving the right way in the rankings. Troicki earned his best results on indoor hard courts last season and won the last meeting against Ivan Ljubicic on such courts.
Prediction
I really think Ivo Karlovic can have a good run here and I would expect him to beat Marin Cilic if they do meet in a Quarter Final match. The Croatian also has strong head to head records against either Melzer or Korolev, his possible Semi Final opponents.
Troicki can come through the bottom half of the draw- he has all the tools to play on indoor hard courts and has had success on them last season.
The draw seems to be top heavy which will also help Troicki here, although he may have a couple of difficult hurdles to overcome.
I will tip Karlovic to take the title here and will also back Troicki each way meaning we can make some money if he gets to the Final as I hope he can.
The Pick :
Ivo Karlovic to win tournament
BEST BETTING TIP :
Ivo Karlovic WIN @ 5.5 (Bet365)Viktor Troicki E/W @ 10.0 (Bet365)
