Coric – Robredo

Clash of generations in Paris as youngster Borna Coric takes on veteran Tommy Robredo in the Roland Garros second round.

Coric played a good match to oust Querrey in 4 sets in the inaugural round, but yet again he showed his limits in that disastrous 3rd set of the 7-6 6-3 0-6 6-3 win. I watched a lot of Coric in this clay court season and he’s not quite worth of the praise he gets. Sure, a great talent and he’s incredibly consistent for his age, he will be good – but the teenager still has a long way to go. He doesn’t have a special weapon, he`s prone to being overpowered by veterans and he often has mental breakdowns, as seen in the Querrey match.

Robredo went trough some tough times in this season, having a horrible record in the first two months of 2015, also struggling with some minor injuries. But once healthy he started to resemble that Robredo of old and, while he still doesn’t look to be playing his absolute best tennis, he has been solid on clay. Tommy reached the third round at Monte Carlo and the semis at Barcelona and took time off after that to make sure he will be ready for Roland Garros. He started off in decent fashion, defeating Golubev in 4 sets. He needed time to find his rhythm, but after losing the first set he was dominant.

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The two players never met before on tour, somewhat expected given the age difference. Coric and Robredo have similar playing styles but the Spaniard is the better player on clay, with Coric being an all rounder, while Tommy is a specialist on the red dirt.

It will be youth against experience here, but I fully expect Robredo to prevail. Coric is not the type of player to outpower you with young exuberance, on the contrary, he`s playing the same brand of tennis like Robredo and I really can’t see him beating the savvy veteran with his own weapons. At just 18 years of age Coric still misses some pieces to compete at this level – he can beat lesser player but is limited in terms of the arsenal he has at his disposal right now and an in form Robredo should take care of him with relative ease.

My tip is Tommy Robredo to win and cover a 1,5 set handicap. Coric might be able to snatch away one set if he plays his best tennis, but Robredo should win it in no more than 4, as he is simply better at the baseline game than the young Croatian and experience will count as well. Prediction: Borna Coric – Tommy Robredo 6-3 3-6 5-7 2-6.

Bet365.com provides the best odds on the outright winner market at Roland Garros.

Pick: Robredo -1,5 set hc.
Odds: 1.86 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.88
Event date: 28 May