Dimitrov and Haas to transplant seeds

Bookmakers have got the correct favourite in the Wimbledon men`s singles first-round match between Grigor Dimitrov and Kevin Anderson but there is still value in the unseeded Bulgarian getting the better of the seeded South African.

The players have met three times during their respective professional careers, with Dimitrov up 2-1 having won both of their previous encounters on super-fast grass courts.

Dimitrov defeated Anderson 6-3 6-2 at Queen`s Club last year and the Bulgarian proved that it was no fluke by beating the South African 4-6 6-4 6-3 at the same London venue two weeks ago before losing in the semi-finals to David Nalbandian.

The one head-to-head match that went the way of Anderson took place in San Jose earlier this year when the South African prevailed in three sets. He dropped the first set 2-6 and only got up thanks to back-to-back tie-break wins.

Anderson is the lowest ranked seed in the Wimbledon men`s singles draw and he has drawn a short straw in the first round against an accomplished grass-court player who knows what it takes to get the job done on the green stuff.

Dimitrov is available at around 8-11 to beat Anderson for the third time on grass and that seems a reasonable price.

Tommy Haas is a bit shorter than Dimitrov, with bookmakers fielding him at around 8-15, but he looks a decent bet to knock out another seed, 27th-ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber.

All three matches between Haas and Kohlschreiber have been on grass, with the former leading his German compatriot 2-1 having won their most recent two clashes, the latest of which was in Halle less than a fortnight ago.

Haas went on to win the Gerry Weber Open, defeating Roger Federer 7-6 6-4 in the final, and he is fancied to uphold the recent form line and account for his countryman.

Kohlschreiber did beat Rafael Nadal before losing to Haas in Halle but his Queen`s Club campaign ended in the second round at the racquet of British outsider Jamie Baker.

Big-serving Ivo Karlovic was built for Wimbledon and, at around 2-9, he is one to include in multiple bets when he lines up versus Dudi Sela, whom he has met twice.

Karlovic leads their series 2-0 with both of the Croat`s victories coming on hard courts. Interestingly, Karlovic leads five sets to one, with Sela`s solitary set coming courtesy of a tie-break success at the Australian Open.

If the 2-9 does not tickle your fancy then you could back Karlovic to win in straight sets. His serve is so big that he may bow out of Wimbledon without dropping it except in tie-break situations where one point against the serve can be all that separates two evenly matches players.

Finally, Andy Murray should be more than good enough to eliminate Nikolay Davydenko but you would be crazy to take short odds about the great home hope considering that the head-to-head record between the two is level at 4-4 and the Briton lost to Nicolas Mahut 3-6 7-6 6-7 at Queen`s Club.

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26/06/2012     © Frixo 2024