Petrova holds all the aces against Safarova

Russian veteran Nadia Petrova is the best value bet of the players likely to play US Open singles matches on the final day of August 2012 at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Petrova will come up against Czech Republic twentysomething Lucie Safarova in the US Open women`s singles third round in what bookmakers will rate as one of the toughest last-32 matches in the women`s draw in which to pick the winner.

The east Europeans are seeded 15th and 19th but Petrova, who is the lower ranked of the two, holds such a head-to-head lead that a bet sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Petrova and Safarova are used to meeting on a tennis court having faced each other five times in their professional careers. The Russian leads their series 4-1 and she is a perfect two from two on courts faster than clay.

The women first met on an Amelia Island clay court in 2006 and Petrova won 6-3 6-2. Later that year, the Russian beat Safarova in straight sets on a Charleston clay court, this time dropping only four games. Petrova made it three from three on a Paris carpet court in 2007, fighting back from one set down to triumph 4-6 6-1 6-4. The Czech got her one and only win on a Madrid hard court in 2010, albeit after losing the middle set 1-6, before Petrova reaffirmed her superiority on a Montreal hard court a few months later.

Having overcome a potential banana skin in the shape of Simona Halep in the US Open women`s singles second round, Petrova is a good bet to build on her 6-1 6-1 victory and qualify for the last 16 at the expense of Safarova.

Switching to the US Open men`s singles, John Isner has a brilliant head-to-head record against his second round opponent, Jarkko Nieminen, so the American is well worth backing to eliminate the Finn in straight sets.

Isner, best known as the man who won the longest tennis match in history, that epic 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 clash at Wimbledon two years ago, has come of age in 2012 and is the ninth seed for his home Grand Slam men`s singles tournament.

Winner of the pre-US Open event in Winston-Salem, Isner has had the wood on Nieminen throughout their respective careers and leads their head-to-head series 3-0. All the American`s wins over the Finn have taken place on hard courts and never has Isner dropped his serve other than during tiebreaks.

That is right. The 27-year-old from Greensboro in North Carolina has had 49 service games against Nieminen and not once dropped his serve. What an truly remarkable statistic.

Isner is a prohibitive price to beat Nieminen by any margin and qualify for the US Open men`s singles third round for the fourth year in a row and fifth time in six attempts.

But bookmakers are offering much more practical odds about Isner beating Nieminen in straight sets which, given their past history, seems like the most likely outcome by far.

Alexandr Dolgopolov`s US Open men`s singles second round match versus Marcos Baghdatis has been delayed. The Ukrainian remains a decent bet to win in either four or five sets. Dolgopolov 3-1 is around 100-30 and Dolgopolov 3-2 is around 11-2. Both options together work out at around 13-8.

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30/08/2012     © Frixo 2024