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Ivo Karlovic and Igor Sijsling will square off in the second round at ATP Hertogenbosch, with the big serving Croat rated as a 1.45 odds favorite by the bookmakers.
Karlovic is on the back of a third round exit at Roland Garros, where he played well before losing in 3 sets to eventual finalist Andy Murray. Big Ivo has found his groove on the red dirt after a horrible start to the season which was also affected by injuries and now he will feel ready to really get it going on his beloved grass. However, Karlovic has not played on the green this season – he had a bye in the first round and this will be his first grass court match of 2016.
As opposed to Karlovic, Sijsling already has two matches under his belt on grass, losing a tough three setter to Mischa Zverev in the Manchester challenger first round before destroying Cervantes-Huegun 6-4 6-0 here in Stuttgart. Sijsling is in good form right now, winning a lot of matches recently and he`s a decent grass court player, so he is definitely not beaten from the start against Big Ivo.
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The Head 2 Head is 1-0 in favor of Karlovic, who won 6-3 7-6 on hard court in Bogota, back in 2013. Big Ivo has an obvious advantage on grass, a surface he loves and which suits his huge serve perfectly. Sijsling on the other hand will hope that he can get an edge from the fact that he already has matches under his belt on the green.
Even if Karlovic didn`t play on grass this season, his expertise on the surface and his huge serve should help him get going pretty quickly. The Croat is serving so well that it`s hard to see Sijsling breaking him – but on the other hand Karlovic might struggle on the return against an in form player, especially in the first set, when he`ll have to adjust to the surface. Sijsling has a good serve himself and he did not face a single break point in the first round.
A first set tiebreak is a reasonable expectation in any match Karlovic playes on grass, so that will be my bet here. Sijsling being in good form, serving well and Karlovic coming after playing on clay should increase the chances for a tiebreak to occur in the first set.
All in all, my tip here will be for the first set to end with 7-6 or 6-7. Odds on the bet are not brilliant, but they seem fair and I still think they are worth medium stakes. Prediction: Ivo Karlovic – Igor Sijsling 7-6 7-6.
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Pick: First set tiebreak – Yes
Odds: 1.83 @ Bet365
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 4.98
Event date: 9 June
