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Lleyton Hewitt and Andreas Seppi will square off in the first match on center-court for a place in the Shanghai Masters second round.
Hewitt is in a good spot right now, he was injury-free this season for the first time in years and he is playing some great tennis. Lleyton is in solid form, he was superb at US Open where he defeated Del Potro and almost reached the quarter finals but was stopped by Youzhny in a 4th round thrilller. The australian played in Beijing last week and he did well to defeat Tommy Haas, only to be dismantled by Fognini 0-6 2-6 in the next round. Fognini was in blistering form but still it was a very bad loss for Hewitt and he is eager to get back on track today.
Seppi is a solid player but he is in very bad form at the moment. The italian did not defeat a top 100 player since early August and lost to guys like Mahut, S. Johnson or Istomin in the last two months. Andreas is on a three match losing streak and he will hope for a better performance here in Shanghai.
Hewitt leads the H2H 3-2, winning the last two matches, the last one being in 2011. Both players are very able on hard courts, though you have to feel that Hewitt is just a little more adjusted to the surface.
Hewitt should do well in this match and he is set to advance to the second round. He is in better form and a better player for sure, but one thing I particularly like about him today is the matchup. The two players are baseliners and have a similar style of play, only Lleyton is better at it. Expect the australian, a top returner, to dismantle Seppi`s weak serve, a thing that will break the italian`s already low confidence. Considering Seppi is in poor form, I can’t see what he can do today in order to defeat Hewitt. In order to win he would need either his “A” game, or a different style of play, something with which to surprise Lleyton. But his “A” game is far away and his tennis package does not include a different style of play.
I`m thinking 6-3 6-4 for Lleyton here, maybe it could go in a deciding set if Seppi regains some of his form but that doesn`t seem likely against Hewitt. Since I don’t really see any edge for the italian in this match except youth, I`ll go with a solid 8 unit stake.
Pick: Hewitt
Odds: 1.71 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.68
Event date: 8 October
Editor Facts
- Rostick is 1 for 1 at Shanghai Masters and 8 for 10 overall in October
