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Number one seed Richard Gasquet will take on the big serving Uzbek Denis Istomin in the ATP Eastbourne semifinals.
Gasquet’s form and fitness was a question mark coming into this Eastbourne tournament, as the frenchman was on the back of two blowout losses against Verdasco (Roland Garros) and Haase (Halle). Richard had some fitness problems this year, did not play too much and had a mediocre season by his standards so far. Gasquet put on a good display here in Eastbourne, looking fit, but his level of play is still pretty far away from his best. Gasquet had a bye in the 1st round, then won in three sets against Tomic and defeated Klizan 6-3 6-4 in the quarters.
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Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Istomin had a very good season up to date (18-14 win loss record at ATP level), played good tennis, got some big wins against top 30 players. The Uzbek player is in pretty good form as well, losing a very tight match against Dolgopolov last week in the Queen’s 2nd round and reaching the Eastbourne semis after some really solid performances this week. Istomin had some problems in the first round against Kukushkin, but went on to defeat two very good players in the form of Garcia Lopez and Roger-Vasselin in two sets each.
Richard Gasquet leads the H2H 2-1 (0-0 on grass), but Istomin won the last meeting in 2012, on hard. Both guys like to play their tennis on grass, so the surface will not give either competitor an edge over the other.
Gasquet got what he wanted here in Eastbourne: played a few grass court matches, increased his form a little bit prior to Wimbledon. Surely he`ll try to win the event if he reached the semis, but Istomin will have slightly more motivation, he does not have the chance to reach an ATP final every week (or every year for that matter). The Uzbek looked really solid this week and served very well, allowing just 3 breaks in 3 matches. Gasquet is still slightly off-rhythm, he`s not in the best form and had an easy draw to reach this stage. He`s not the best returner on tour and he will struggle against Istomin’s big serve. This should be a close match and I expect Istomin to cover the 2,5 game handicap. The line is small, but this should go to the wire, and Istomin can even win it – two tiebreaks are also not out of the question. My tip is Istomin +2,5 handicap, very good odds on this bet by Pinnacle. Prediction: Richard Gasquet – Denis Istomin 6-7 6-7.
Pick: Istomin (+2,5 game handicap)
Odds: 1.97 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 6.79
Event date: 20 June
