Can Federer Beat Verdasco To Further Progress In Dubai?

Roger Federer is looking to defend his Dubai Duty Free crown this year and will have to make his way past Fernando Verdasco in an effort to pick up back-to-back titles and the seventh Dubai title of his career. Madrid-born Verdasco must try to overcome Federer for the first time in the sixth ATP meeting between the two men.

This afternoon`s (16:30) encounter is a second round clash, Federer progressing through to this stage by seeing off Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets (6-3, 6-1) whilst Verdasco made his way through to round two by putting fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to the sword 7-5, 6-1.

Thirty-three year-old Federer`s supremacy over today`s opponent means that it is he who is the favourite to make his way through to the next stage of the competition. Bwin have the best price of 2/17 on the Swiss player seeing off Verdasco. His 31-year-old rival can be backed at 7/1 with sportingbet to spring a surprise on the favourite in the pursuit of his seventh ATP title.

Whilst the two men have met five times already in ATP tournaments, this is their first clash since 2012. That encounter was in the third round of the US Open, the two men`s third meeting on hard, Federer winning out 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The players first met on clay back in 2005 though their first encounter on a hard court surface was back in 2009 in the quarter-finals of Indian Wells. This ended in another straight sets victory to the Swiss player (6-3, 7-6). A number of bookmakers (32red, 888sport, Bwin, unibet) are offering odds of 4/9 on yet another Federer straight sets triumph.

Verdasco won his first and only set against his rival today in the 2009 World Tour Finals in London. That round robin match saw the number one seed having to come from behind to pick up the win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. sportingbet have the best price of 17/4 on the 83-time ATP tournament winner beating Verdasco by two sets to one. Otherwise the price is 6/1 (also Sportingbet) should you think that Federer will have to come from behind once again to win the match.

The Basel-born star has never beaten Verdasco by a greater margin than six games and paddy Power customers are able to bet on the difference between the two players in today`s tie. The company`s 8/15 says that one player will beat the other by a number of games between five and nine whilst 10/11 is the price on one player reigning victorious by five, six or seven games. Four-to-one says that the two men will be separated by exactly six games for the third time, whilst 7/2 is available for those who think that they will be split by exactly five games for the third occasion.

Indeed, it might be worth checking out the games handicap market. betfair are offering odds of 3/4 on Federer collecting the most games despite being 4.5 games down to begin with. This is because he would`ve done this on four of the previous five occasions with this handicap. Verdasco is 7/6 with 888sport and unibet to accumulate the most games starting on a handicap of +4.5.

At bet365 you can pick up odds concerning a five game swing. Interested punters can receive odds of 11/10 to see Verdasco starting on a handicap of +5. This would have been good enough in one of the previous five clashes. Five-to-four says Federer can bag the most games despite starting on a handicap of minus five whilst 4/1 says it will be a draw with Verdasco starting on +5, something that would have occurred twice previously.

Go To bet365

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25/02/2015     © Frixo 2024