Betdistrict.com
Jurgen Melzer and Kevin Anderson will meet in the Vienna second round, on indoor hard. The former World No.8 will retire after this week`s Vienna tournament, so he will hope this will not be the last match of his career.
The 37 year old Melzer hasn`t been relevant at ATP level for quite some time now, and is ranked at the moment outside the Top 400 after yet another very disappointing year. However, playing the last tournament of his career has definitely woken up something in the Austrian legend. Melzer claimed a superb 7-6 7-5 win in the first round over Milos Raonic, a really impressive result even if Raonic has been in poor form lately.
Anderson was close to being knocked out in the first round by Basilashvili, but the South African eventually managed to pull off a 4-6 7-6 6-3 win. Kevin has been in decent form since the US Open but nothing special for his standards, posting QF showings at Tokyo and Shanghai. He will be motivated to advance further in Vienna in order to protect his Top 8 ranking and qualify for this year`s ATP World Tour finals.
Bet on Melzer vs. Anderson and claim your 100% (120 Euro) freebet at LSbet now!Anderson leads the H2H 2-1 (1-0 on hard) and won the last two meetings very clearly. The two players have not met since 2013.
While Anderson does lead the H2H against Melzer, he is actually the only big server to do so. Over the course of his career Jurgen Melzer has been an absolute beast against big servers, leading the H2H against Isner (3-2), Muller (2-1), Raonic (2-1), Karlovic (5-2) and others. Often time he was the underdog in those meetings, especially later in his career. There have been cases when he won as a 3.00 or 4.00 odds underdog, I remember the 2012 Memphis final against Raonic.
His win in the first round this week against the same Raonic came to confirm the excellent matchup he has against big servers.
Anderson is clearly the better player by miles at the moment and he beat Melzer badly in the previous two meetings, but Jurgen’s record against big servers can not be overstated, and this is a special week and a special match for Jurgen.
Melzer could give Anderson a real fight here. He will give his best effort in the last tournament of his career, as he has no reason left to save energy, and his expertise against big servers should help him keep the match close. There`s also the fact that Melzer played very well in the first round, showing glimpses of the Top 10 player he once was, while Anderson struggled a bit. It might also count that Jurgen met a player quite similar with Anderson in the first round, so he should be ready for Kevin’s game.
My tip will be Jurgen Melzer to cover the 4 game handicap. I will keep the stakes reasonable as there is still a big difference between these two players at the moment, but the bet is worth a shot as far as I`m concerned. Prediction: Jurgen Melzer – Kevin Anderson 6-7 7-6 4-6.
Pick: Melzer +4
Odds: 1.83 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 4.98
Event date: 24 October
