Thursday, August 17, 2006

Dominik Hrbaty is a strange character ........


.... on occasion he seems to concede a little too easily. On others, like the Australian Open this year, where he won four , 5 set matches in a row, he will fight to the bitter end.

The next day he may turn up on court wearing a backless top, now that is something he is going to regret in the future. You have to be a fighter to wear that !

He has a fantastic Davis Cup record, last year he showed terrific heart in the final to beat Mario Ancic and then Ivan Ljubicic, in a titanic 5 set battle.

Today he faces Ljubicic once more, their second meeting since the cup tie, Hrbaty winning in Rome, on clay. Ivan won the previous five, so leads the h2h 5-2, all but one match has gone the full distance. I just get the feeling that the Davis Cup win may have swung the psycological edge, the Slovakian's way.

Ljubicic had an amazing early season, picking up two titles and a number 3 ATP ranking, of which he is very proud. However, he seems to have fallen a little from that dizzy peak and has not reached a semi-final since Roland Garros.

It was a similar story last year, good early season form, followed by a mid summer slump.

Going to side with Hrbaty today, the 4.20 on offer seems very big, for such a talented player, against a rival he has beaten in the last two meetings and who might be a little below his best.
I will also advise a small lay of Ljubicic to win 2-0, this will ensure a small profit if Hrbaty takes a set.

1 point Hrbaty to beat Ljubicic 4.20 betfair.
lay 2 points Ljubicic 2-0 sets 1.93 betfair.

Good Luck.

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