SAP Open 1st Round: Odesnik takes on Berdych, Dent battles Bogomolov Jr.

February 8, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Tennis Betting 

San Jose, California – American hopefuls Wayne Odesnik and Taylor Dent will hope to give the home crowd something to cheer about when they kick off their SAP Open campaign in the first round, against Czech Tomas Berdych and American Alex Bogomolov Jr., respectively.

The former has the tougher path into the second round. Berdych is a considerable talent in the game and has a superior ranking edge over Odesnik, not to mention a 1-0 H2H edge.

Dent has the easier path, on paper at least, into the second round. Alex Bogomolov Jr., son of former Russian tennis star, Alexandre Bogomolov Sr., ranks beyond the top 200 and has little experience on the ATP.

Here is a look at Odesnik and Dent in their first round encounters at the SAP Open, complete with BetUS tennis betting lines and odds.

Tennis Betting Line:

Wayne Odesnik +4 -105 +275 21 O -135 U -105
Tomas Berdych -4 -135 -450 21 O -135 U -105

Match Time: 07:45 PM Eastern Time Monday February 8, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: World No.23 Tomas Berdych enters his first round encounter against home favourite Wayne Odesnik as the bookies favourite, listed at -450 to win outright. Berdych takes a 4-3 mark into their clash, including a semi-final appearance in Brisbane (l. to eventual champion Roddick 6-1, 3-6, 4-6). Berdych, however, put forward warped accounts in Sydney and Melbourne. He lost in Sydney to No.78 Peter Luczak 6-1, 4-6, 2-6 and in Melbourne to No.53 Evgeny Korolev 4-6, 4-6, 5-7. That both losses came to players he should have beaten easily is rather concerning. Makes him for an uncertain favourite in this match in my opinion; certainly, gives Odesnik a theoretical shot.

Odesnik takes a 3-2 mark into their clash, including a quarterfinal run in Brisbane (l. to finalist Radek Stepanek). The market lists him at +275 odds to win outright, rather longer than I would have expected.

Tennis Free Picks: The tennis betting trend will definitely side with Berdych, as he is overall the more accomplished player of the two. Tennis bettors looking to back Berdych will like his odds to cover the spread at -4 -135 and should take the Under 21 -105. When Berdych is on, he can be devastatingly clinical. However, his tendency to mentally checkout of matches is too well documented to ignore. If he should unravel once again, Odesnik will capitalize. Hence, a small symbolic bet on Odesnik to win outright would not go amiss. (Small, the operative word. It is not a lock bet.)

Tennis Betting Line:

Alex Bogomolov Jr +3 -125 +160 22½ O -120 U -120
Taylor Dent -3 -115 -210 22½ O -120 U -120

Match Time: 11:30 PM Eastern Time Monday February 8, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Curiously, the market is rather conservative on this match, listing Dent at modest odds of -210 to win outright and Bogomolov Jr. at mere odds of +160 to win outright. There is the fact that Dent has been slow to get his season started, which could have affected his odds. He is only 1-3 ahead of the SAP Open and ranked No.77. Dent and his wife were expecting a baby in January, which happily was delivered during the Australian Open. Perhaps his mind was not fully focused on tennis at the time. It should be now. Bogomolov Jr., on the other hand, is 0-0 on the season and so it is somewhat surprising that in his first event of the season, his first match of the season, he should be so moderately priced.

Tennis Free Picks: The tennis-betting trend will favour Dent in my opinion. Moreover, the crowd will be cheering slightly more for him in my opinion. He is a popular figure and a fan favourite. Dent to win at -210 is therefore a good play as is Dent to cover the spread at -3 -115. The Over 22 ½ -120 is an added bet.

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