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The first semifinal in Atlanta will see two good friends in John Isner and Jack Sock battle it out for a place in the Sunday final.
Isner had a mediocre season so far for his standards, but with the coming of the US hard court season he will hope to reach his best level of tennis again. Big John is on the back of a disappointing showing in Newport where he lost in the quarters to today`s opponent, Sock, so he will surely want to avenge that defeat, especially considering the fact that it seemed rather undeserved, John basically gave that match away to Sock (not a reference to match fixing). Isner struggled big time in the first match here at Atlanta with Ginepri but put on a better performance against a dangerous Matosevic in the QF, winning in two sets. Overall, Isner is playing decent tennis right now and seems to be improving in this US swing where he always comes up with his best tennis.
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Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
As I said in my previous pick on Jack Sock, the guy really loves this tournament, he stated that it`s one of his favorite ATP events and of course he loves the surface and the fact that he plays at home. Sock was in good form coming into Atlanta and Jack started the tournament really strong with 2 straight set wins against a decent Alejandro Gonzalez and against Michael Venus, was looking very good and sharp. He backed up those wins with a quarterfinal success against Lacko (7-6 6-2) but I have to say I expected better from Sock. He did not play great against the Slovakian, a lot of mis-hits and unforced errors, his serve did not work too well either. He was very close to losing the first set but somehow managed to win it and than Lacko totally collapsed. The point is that Sock is playing well, but he was not at his best yesterday and realistically speaking the level of opposition he faced to reach the semifinals wasn’t too great. Jack still needs to find some more consistency to his game, we saw his weaknesses in the 1-6 2-6 loss to Hewitt two weeks ago in Newport.
The H2H is 3-1 for Isner (1-0 on hard), but Sock won the previous meeting two weeks ago, as I previously stated. Both guys are big servers with big forehands but Isner has an edge in both categories. This year the H2H is 1-1, Isner won a couple of months ago on clay.
There`s no doubt that Isner is a superior player to Sock and the fact that he`s improving his form is encouraging. Jack did not look all that good yesterday and even if I expect him to at least improve his serving, he should be no match for his more seasoned opponent. Isner should hold his huge serve comfortably and take advantage of Sock’s errors to get break point opportunities or at least get ahead in the tiebreak(s). My tip is Isner to win, I expect him to avenge the undeserved Newport loss and qualify for the final, a result he really needs. The opening odds seem pretty solid so I will go with 9 units on this bet for a decent return of investment. Predictiction: John Isner – Jack Sock 7-6 6-4.
Pick: John Isner
Odds: 1.57 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 5.13
Event date: 26 July
