Friday, March 07, 2008

NICE START TO THE DAY .....

Email subscribers are off to a flyer today, with Lopez beating Davydenko in a thriller , Andy Roddick starts a little later .....

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO - FELICIANO LOPEZ

ANDY RODDICK - NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Not going to invest too much, but I cannot agree with the odds and feel both favourites have been priced too short.

Lopez has started 2008 very slowly, but his big serve is well suited by the surface here and he has recorded fine wins over Tipsarevic, Berdych and Ferrer. He holds a 4-0 h2h record over his Russian opponent, but all were before Davydenko's march into the top ten. Lopez has a final appearance here in 2004, when he beat Davy and only lost in 3 sets to Fed-ex. Think that this is much closer than the odds suggest.

Roddick has split from his coach Jimmy Connors, that partnership was never going to last, but a legacy of it, is an improvement in the big server's backhand. As normal his serve is in awesome form and Novak might not get too many chances to break. The two have met just once before, Djokovic winning in two very close sets, in the Canadian Masters last year, the Serb was in much the better form of the two then. Novak is the second best player in the world, but Roddick will not get a better chance to beat him this season and freed from the coaching "shackles" might play with a little more freedom. Think a play of the American and look to lay off, if he gets in front, is the way to approach this.

3 points Lopez 2.76 exchanges. WON

2 points Roddick 3.31 exchanges

Good Luck.

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