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Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro will square off in arguably the most anticipated 3rd round clash at the Australian Open on Friday night.
Berdych had a rather disappointing season last year, not winning any titles and failing to do much with the exception of a semifinal run at Wimbledon (where he benefited from Djokovic retiring in the quarters). Berdych ended 2017 on a 2-4 run and didn`t start this season well either, losing to Struff in the first round at Doha. Nevertheless, Tomas raised his level here in Melbourne, playing well in the first rounds against De Minaur and Garcia Lopez – even though he lost a set against each of them.
Del Potro started the year with a final at Auckland, losing a close battle against Bautista Agut. Here at the Australian Open he defeated Tiafoe 3-0 and Khachanov 3-1, showing a high level of tennis against two dangerous opponents. The match against Khachanov was a superb fight and Delpo needed his best to win, especially as he also struggled with a thigh injury. He will hope to be recovered coming into this clash with Berdych, and chances are he will be.
Bet on Berdych vs Del Potro and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Del Potro leads the H2H 5-4 (3-2 on hard courts) and won the previous meeting back in July last year, in Cincinnati. Still, it can`t be said that one player holds a matchup advantage over the other.
Berdych remains a dangerous opponent and he has been in good form this week, but over the past couple of seasons he showed signs of declining, rarely being able to claim wins against top opponents. Even this week, when he played well, he had moments in which his level dipped greatly, losing a set against both De Minaur and Garcia Lopez.
Del Potro played better and more consistent tennis here at the 2018 Australian Open, against opponents of higher caliber than what Berdych faced. The Argentinean is really looking solid, both short term and long term.
Del Potro has been in brilliant form since last season’s US Open, reaching the semifinals there, again the semifinals at Shanghai, and reaching the finals in Stockholm (won) and Basel (lost). He is finally healthy long term, and this season he picked up where he left off, playing high quality tennis in Auckland and here in Melbourne.
You have to feel that Del Potro is the better player at the moment, he`s playing better tennis and he`s doing it consistently over the past 6 months. In these circumstances, odds on him should be much lower.
The reason for which Delpotro is priced as high as 1.75 – 1.80 is what happened on Wednesday against Khachanov, when he struggled with a thigh injury. However, I do not think it will be a problem for him. Such an issue should be easily resolved for a top athlete these days, particularly since Delpo had a day of break. Also, Juan Martin proved time and time again that he can overcome injuries suffered in the early rounds, as it has been the case in the previous US Open – when he looked seriously injured in the third round, but went on to reach the semifinals, playing top tennis until the end.
Obviously there is no way to know for sure the state of Delpo`s fitness coming into this match, so there`s a level of risk involved. But history and common sense suggest he should be fine, and that betting on him is a rather low risk which is well worth taking. In normal circumstances he should cruise through Berdych here, so my tip is Del Potro to win. Prediction: Tomas Berdych – Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7 6-2 3-6 4-6.
Pick: Del Potro
Odds: 1.77 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.16
Event date: 20 January
