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Marin Cilic will take on Romanian No. 1 Marius Copil in the first round at the US Open.
Cilic is one of the 6 main favorites to win the US Open trophy, which is a fair estimation considering that the Croatian had a solid season and played pretty well in the last month on hard courts as well. After a disappointing second round exit at Wimbledon, Cilic played the two hard court Masters events in the US Open series, reaching the quarterfinals in Montreal and the semis in Cincinnati. Each time he lost to the eventual winner (Nadal – Montreal, Djokovic – Cincinnati) in tight three setters.
Marius Copil has also been in great form after Wimbledon. The Romanian started the North American hard court swing with a first round exit in Atlanta, but went on to play very well in Washington (R16 exit) and in Cincinnati (2nd round exit after qualifying for the main draw). Copil got a few notable wins along the way in those tournaments (Chardy, Kohlschreiber), and the losses were highly competitive. In Washington he was defeated in a third set tiebreak by Murray, while in Cincinnati he put real pressure on today`s opponent, Cilic, in a 7-6 4-6 4-6 loss.
Bet on Cilic v Copil and claim your 100% (100 Eur) welcome bonus at Ohmbet now!The H2H is tied at 1-1 (both meetings on hard courts), with Copil surprisingly giving Cilic real problems each time they met. The previous clash was just a couple of weeks ago when Cilic won 6-7 6-4 6-4 in Cincinnati.
Cilic is obviously the better player and unless he has a horrible day at the office he will win this, probably in 3 or 4 sets. However, that`s not to say it will be a straightforward victory.
Cilic will likely not invest maximum energy in this first round clash, especially in the beginning. Chances are he`ll start slower and rely on his serve until he gets some rhythm, and then step on the gas when needed. With Copil being a big server in very good form, the Romanian could well keep this match close – similar to what happened two weeks ago in Cincinnati.
The fact that he played close matches with Cilic each time they met will also give Copil the added confidence a player like him needs when taking on a Top 10 opponent.
For Copil this will be one of the biggest matches of his career so he will come out with a lot of intensity. With Cilic expected to play it cool especially in the beginning of the match, and with Copil having a huge serve and being in very good form, the first set could be a tight one and could well end in a tiebreak (especially since Cilic is a big server himself).
Look for Copil to start strong and he has an honest chance to serve his way towards a first set tiebreak. A fair point can be made that 7-6 / 6-7 is actually the most likely score in the opening set given the circumstances and the way these two players are serving.
Odds above 3.50 for a first set tiebreak to occur are definitely worth a try in my eyes, so that will be my tip. Best odds are currently at William Hill (bet is written as first set score 7-6) and then Bet365 and Betfair Sportsbook follow with odds 4.00 (bet written as over 12,5 games). I think any stake between 2 and 6 units is fair game here, personally I will go with 4. Prediction: Marin Cilic – Marius Copil 7-6 7-6 6-3.
Pick: First set tiebreak – Yes
Odds: 4.20 @ William Hill
Stake: 4
Possible profit: 12.80
Event date: 28 August
