Tomic – Haider-Maurer

Andreas Haider-Maurer will look to back up one of the biggest wins of his career when he meets Bernard Tomic in the Monte Carlo second round.

Tomic isn`t exactly known for his skills on clay and the slow surface at Monte Carlo theoretically works against him, but Bernard was able to produce a good display in the first round – defeating Lukas Rosol 4-6 6-2 6-3. Tomic took his time to adapt to the surface and figure out how to stop Rosol’s attacking game and after the first set he found answers to all questions, easily breaking down Rosol with his consistency and winning easily. The Australian is playing the best tennis of his career right now, posting a 21-7 win-loss record in 2015 and this could really be his best season so far.

Andreas Haider-Maurer played one of the best matches of his career in the first round, blasting winners all over the place as he defeated Ernest Gulbis 6-0 6-1. He did play very well, prompting Gulbis to joke that he “expects Haider Maurer to win the tournament”, but truth to be told Gulbis was just horrific. Haider-Maurer is having a good season so far for his standards and is close to breaking Top 50. Last week he reached the quarters at Cassablanca, losing 3-6 3-6 to Dzumhur.

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The Head 2 Head is 1-0 for Tomic and interestingly enough, the only meeting was won on clay in straight sets (3-0). Obviously the Head 2 Head doesn`t say much, but Tomic can obviously dominate Haider-Maurer on clay despite the Austrian being more suited for this surface. Tomic consistency from the baseline will always hurt a guy like Andreas, who is offensive but inconsistent.

The odds are going up on Tomic, but I reckon most punters are taking Haider-Maurer’s win against Gulbis too seriously. Gulbis was an absolute disaster, so that is not a match from which we can draw conclusions – after all, Haider-Maurer was destroyed by a guy like Dzumhur less than a week ago. Tomic is much better in terms of quality, he`s having an excellent season and played a good match himself in the first round.

I consider the matchup to be key here – not only does Tomic match up well against a player that is prone to errors and a known headcase, but he actually had to figure out a very similar player last round in Lukas Rosol – and he did it brilliantly, we could actually see the process of how Tomic steadily figured him out, adapted his game and broke him down. I expect the better and more consistent player to win here and look for Tomic to be ready from the start this time around – even though he could lose a set if Haider-Maurer comes up with his best tennis. My tip is Tomic to win. Prediction: Bernard Tomic – Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4 5-7 6-2.

Live streaming for the Monte Carlo tennis event available for players at Bet365.com.

Pick: Tomic
Odds: 2.16 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 9.28
Event date: 14 April