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The final at Atlanta will be played tonight between top seed John Isner and the surprise package of Dudi Sela.
Isner was not exactly in his best form prior to this tournament and had a tough start with a three set win over Ginepri, but improved his level of tennis in the next two matches, where he routed Matosevic and Sock in tight two setters. Big John feels great here at Atlanta, he loves these US hard court tournaments in the summer and we will probably see him in top form pretty soon. Still, he`s not there yet, even if he is playing better with every game.
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Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Dudi Sela had an incredible run to this final for a player that did not impress at all in the last couple of years, struggling to stay in the Top 100. Sela showed some promise in the last two tournaments where he won 3 matches and lost close matches to Karlovic each time, but this week he really stepped it up and played his best tennis in years. Sela started with two blowout wins against Young and an in-form Querrey, continuted with a 3 set win over Pospisil (had a collapse in the 2nd set) and finally dispatched Becker in 3 sets yesterday. Becker was also playing at his best level and looked like he can do no wrong this week, but Sela prevailed. Incredible shot making from the Israelian, top class movement, he limited his unforced errors and is finding fantastic angles on the court.
Isner leads the H2H 2-0, both meeetings were played on hard and one of them was this year at Delray Beach. However, Isner`s win a couple of months ago should actually worry him: he was in good form, Sela was far from his current level and still Big John barely edged it 3-6 6-1 7-6, even having to save match points from I can remember (I might be wrong though).
Listen, Isner is the better player and you can argue that he will have too much power for the small Sela, but the Israelian is playing the tennis of his life this week and surely has a fighting chance to win this. Sela had better opponents than Isner had, guys who were in much better form as well than the likes of Sock or Matosevic. He also dispatched an in-form Querrey who is a big hitter and big server just like Isner, he proved he can play against Isner or Karlovic in the recent past, so I don`t expect Sela to be overpowered and overwhelmed. I really think this will be a very close match – Isner is still a little bit rusty, making unforced errors, moving a little bit slow – he is vulnerable against a fast guy in top form like Sela. My tip will be Sela to win – I would rather go with this because of the fantastic value of the odds instead of a game handicap or a set handicap. Prediction: John Isner – Dudi Sela 6-7 6-4 6-7.
Pick: Dudi Sela
Odds: 4.35 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 5
Possible profit: 16.75
Event date: 27 July
