Zheng`s luck to run out versus Rybarikova

As the two US Open singles events go into the second round, Magdalena Rybarikova is the best bet of the outsiders given her head-to-head record against her opponent, Jie Zheng.

Rybarikova is ranked 38 places lower than Zheng but the Slovakian is two from two versus the Chinese, including a straight-sets hard court victory in China last year.

That 7-5 6-3 scoreline in Guangzhou sticks out like a sore thumb and, coupled with Rybarikova`s 7-6 6-4 triumph on grass in Birmingham in 2009, marks out her as a top bet.

Rybarikova qualified for the US Open women`s singles second round by beating Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3 2-6 6-3, while Zheng was lucky to get past virginie Razzano. The Chinese lost the first leg 4-6 before winning the second set 2-6 ahead of Razzano retiring from the match because of injury.

Like Zheng, Nadia Petrova is a US Open women`s singles seed who is vulnerable against a lower ranked opponent. Simona Halep thrashed the Russian 6-3 6-2 on a Miami hard court five months ago and is a young woman heading in the right direction. The Romanian is a value-priced match outsider.

Switching over to the US Open men`s singles second round, home representative Tim Smyczek is interesting in his match versus number 17 seed, Japan`s Kei Nishikori. The men have met once previously and the result went the way of Smyczek, the American winning 6-4 3-6 6-1 on a San Jose hard court.

Nishikori does not a very good Grand Slam record for a man ranked in the world`s top 20 singles players, only getting past the third round twice in 12 main-draw appearances. He is not someone to back at short odds, particularly against someone such as Smyczek who will raise his game in New York.

Jack Sock is another American hopeful who will attract bets simply because he is playing in front of home fans but he will have his work cut out eliminating Flavio Cipolla. The experienced Italian campaigner socked Sock 6-3 6-1 on a Los Angeles hard court last month, Cipolla coming out on top of every match statistic. Back him to confirm the form if bookmakers get too carried with the underdog`s chance.

Roger Federer faces Bjorn Phau in what is likely to be one of the US Open men`s singles second round least competitive matches but beware backing the Swiss superstar to win 3-0.

It may have been 13 years ago but Phau beat Federer 6-2 6-3 on a Washington hard court and, although the head-to-head ledger is 2-1 in favour of the Fed Express now, the German has kept the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion honest in their subsequent matches played in 2007 and 2010.

Bookmakers are offering short odds about Federer reaching the US Open men`s singles third round without dropping a set. He probably will defeat Phau 3-0 but the available prices do not reflect the history of the rivalry.

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28/08/2012     © Frixo 2024