Djere – Ignatik

Laslo Djere and Uladzimir Ignatik face off in the second round at the Mohammedia challenger (clay) on Wednesday afternoon, with the match looking pretty evenly matched on paper. However, I think there’s some good value to be taken here.

Djere was in poor form coming to Mohammedia, losing 3 out of his last 4 matches and not winning an important match in a very long time. Still, he was able to play well and defeat De Greef 6-0 6-4. Obviously a very solid win, but De Greef was in rather weak form himself and Djere also handed him a big beating in the US Open qualies – so there might be some matchup issues there.

Ignatik was pretty solid in his 6-4 7-5 first round win against Steven Diez. It was a good all around performance from Ignatik, who played very steady from the baseline, kept challenging Diez to hit another shot and eventually forcing him to miss – while also unleashing some excellent winners himself. The Belorussian was also very strong mentally, saving 12 out of 13 break points (!!) and coming back from 2-4 in the second set to win 7-5. On the other hand, allowing Diez to have 13 break points is a sign for worry.

Ignatik leads the Head 2 Head 1-0, claiming an easy win in a Futures event in 2014, but that`s not really relevant coming into this match. Both players are very solid on clay.

Djere does not deserve to be the favorite here. he might be the more talented player, but right now there’s little separating the two in terms of the level of play. Ignatik played very well in the first round and he is in better form than Djere over the last couple of months.

This should be a tight match, but I consider Ignatik to be the favorite. Considering the excellent mental strength and capacity to grind out points showed by Ignatik in the first round, there-s every reason to believe he will be able to be the more consistent player and snatch a hard fought win.

My tip on this clash is Ignatik to win. I was happy with what I saw from him in the first round, he`s playing at a very solid level for a challenger event. Keeping the stakes reasonable on this bet though. Prediction: Laslo Djere – Uladzimir Ignatik 6-3 5-7 4-6.

Pick: Ignatik
Odds: 2.04 @ Slbet
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 6.24
Event date: 5 October