Hewitt to make Ferrer work for last-16 berth

Bet on Lleyton Hewitt making David Ferrer having to pull out all the stops to reach the US Open`s men singles fourth round when the fighters go to war at Flushing Meadows.

Hewitt is the gutsiest tennis player of the modern era and, while a third Grand Slam singles title is a pipe dream for the Australian battler, he is going to make whoever ends his US Open men`s singles adventure work for his prized scalp.

The former world number one has fought back from dropping the first set in both of his US Open`s men singles matches this year, eliminating Tobias Kamke in four sets and Gilles Muller in five sets. Hewitt, who would have retired long ago if he did not believe that he could qualify for the latter stages of major tournaments, is going to make Ferrer fight.

One hundred and twenty places separate Hewitt and Ferrer in the rankings but everyone, bookmakers included, knows that the Australian is not your average world number 125. That is why he is around 7-2 to knock out the world number five and, in the absence of Rafael Nadal, the fourth seed in New York.

Hewitt and Ferrer have met twice previously, with the former winning 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-5 on a Wimbledon grass court in 2006 and the latter triumphing 6-2 3-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 on a Roland Garros clay court two years later. It is not hard to see their third match going well past the minimum three sets.

The best bet is to back Ferrer to beat Hewitt either 3-1 or 3-2. The Spaniard is long odds on to win the match but he is odds against to progress after dropping one or two sets.

Also in the US Open`s men singles third round, John Isner and Alexandr Dolgopolov appeal in their matches against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Stanislas Wawrinka respectively.

Isner leads Kohlschreiber 3-0 lifetime and 2-0 on hard courts but all of their previous meetings have gone the distance so back the American to get past the German in either four or five sets. Isner`s serve is difficult to break but Kohlschreiber has cracked it in the past and, furthermore, he is more than handy in tiebreak games.

Dolgopolov and Wawrinka have met only once before but that the Ukrainian beat the Swiss on clay suggests that he will be able to repeat the feat on a hard court. Bookmakers are having trouble splitting the pair. Side with Dolgopolov.

In the US Open`s women singles fourth round, head-to-head data suggest an easy assignment for Maria Sharapova versus Nadia Petrova and a much tougher one for Petra Kvitova against Marion Bartoli, one that may produce an upset.

Sharapova has won seven of her eight career matches versus Petrova, including four victories on outdoor hard courts like the ones at Flushing Meadows. One will not get rich backing Sharapova to win the all-Russian tie, either straight up or in straight sets, but it is the go.

Certainly Sharapova is a much safer bet at short odds than Kvitova, who has had trouble with Bartoli in the past. The women are tied at two wins apiece on all surfaces and tied at one victory each on hard courts. Kvitova ought to take a 3-2 lead in their series but she is not worth supporting.

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03/09/2012     © Frixo 2024