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Jiri Vesely takes on Bulgarian ace Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals stage at ATP Istanbul, a tournament held in Turkey on red clay.
Vesely has been red hot on clay this season. He played two tournaments, reaching the final at Marrakech and the third round at Monte Carlo, where he famously defeated Novak Djokovic before losing to eventual finalist Monfils. Vesely continued his good form here in Istanbul, routing Gabashvili 2-0 and Carballes Baena 2-1 – utterly dominating the last two sets after losing the first via tiebreak.
Dimitrov has been so and so this season, usually being able to pass one or two rounds but playing just one final – not the best results considering the expectations. If Dimitrov played Ok on hard courts, he looked totally out of rhythm so far on clay, losing in the second round at Monte Carlo to Simon and barely defeating Adrian Ungur in the second round here in Istanbul. Ungur was arguably the better player in that match, but he showed why he is barely ranked inside the Top 200 by losing the important points. Dimitrov eventually won 7-5 4-6 7-5.
Place your bets on Vesely vs. Dimitrov with the best tennis odds at 1xBet.com now!
The only Head 2 Head meeting took place in Bucharest, in 2014, on clay and Dimitrov won in two sets 7-6 6-2. The Bulgarian went on to win the tournament that year. Despite Dimitrov winning the only meeting on clay, he clearly prefers hard courts and grass, while Vesely is a more balanced all rounder and had brilliant success on clay this season.
A streaky and moody player, Dimitrov was not very likely to play his best tennis in a modest ATP 250 tournament, in Turkey, on clay. Looking at his performance against Ungur, it`s safe to assume that he won`t be at his best either. Clay is not his favorite surface and he surely views this tournament as more of a training session.
Vesely is in excellent form, he`s an up and coming talent who already proved himself on the best stage. If Vesely plays at the same level he did in the last few weeks and if Dimitrov is not at his very best (which is very likely), Vesely is the favorite here. He doesn`t make too many errors right now and his deep ground strokes will force Dimitrov to run, forcing errors from the Bulgarian.
Betting on the Czech player definitely represents value here in my eyes and even those who do not agree with my analysis will likely admit that this is more or less a 50-50 match, so backing Vesely at these odds is worth it. Both players can be a bit inconsistent at times, so I reckon it`s better to go with the higher odds, instead of making things complicating with handicaps or under / overs.
My tip on this one is Vesely to win straight up, he is simply playing the better tennis on clay right now. Prediction: Jiri Vesely – Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 6-4.
Pick: Vesely
Odds: 2.88 @ 1xBet
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 11.28
Event date: 29 April
