First Seed Karlovic Plays Former Zagreb Winner Baghdatis

Ivo Karlovic is the new top seed at the ATP Zagreb Indoors competition but will have to overcome former champion Marcos Baghdatis tonight (17:30) should he want to progress through to the competition`s third round. Karlovic was promoted to the top seed position after the withdrawal of four-time winner Marin Cilic who is yet to recover fully from a shoulder injury.

Baghdatis will prove to be a tough opponent, however, being only one of three foreign men to have ever scooped the crown in Croatia. Cypriot Baghdatis claimed the prize back in 2007, putting home hope Ivan Ljubicic to the sword in three sets. Russian Sergiy Stakhovsky then lifted the trophy a year later after also seeing off Ljubicic before the final non-Croatian winner was crowned in 2012 with Mikhail Youzhny.

As a result of this dominance by players from the former Yugoslav state, Zagreb-born Karlovic is a 4/1 shot with Stan James to win the competition outright. Serbian Viktor Troicki (Betvictor) is the second favourite whilst Baghdatis can be backed at 16/1 with Betvictor.

Fellow former triumphs Youzhny, Ivan Dodig and Stakhovsky are available at 10/1 (Stan James), 12/1 (Betvictor, Stan James) and 20/1 (Stan James) respectively.

This second round meeting will be only the third time that Baghdatis and Karlovic have met on court, the current head-to-head between the competitors reading 1-1.

Both of these matches took place in France, on hard court surfaces back in 2008. The Cypriot player got the better of his opponent in the pair`s first ever meeting, that being in the Open 13 in Marseille.

Karlovic bit the dust in straight sets in the second round of the tournament, losing 6-4, 6-4. Baghdatis would see off Youzhny in the quarter-finals before exiting the tournament at the semi-final stage, his Croatian superior being Mario Ancic who would go on to lose to Andy Murray in the final.

The second of these 2008 meetings was in Metz in the Moselle Open. Karlovic was the number one seed in that tournament and brought down Baghdatis 6-4 in the first set. He was then 2-1 up in the second before his opponent retired. Despite his heavy favouritism in Metz, the Croatian would be knocked out by Spaniard Carlos Moya in the second stage of the tournament.

Despite having not recorded a full victory over his opponent, tonight the number one seed is the 4/6 (Spreadex, william hill) favourite to see off 29-year-old Baghdatis. The best price on an upset is a 11/8 with Betvictor.

Bookmaker 888sport are offering odds of 9/5 on the 35-year-old favourite being able to pull off a straight sets success over his rival whilst a straight sets victory for Baghdatis is best priced 10/3 with boylesports.

Ranked 67th in the world, Baghdatis needed three sets to turn over Croatian wildcard Toni Androic in the first stage. Androic picked up the first set thanks to a tie-breaker before the experience of the one-time Grand Slam finalist won out, taking the next two sets 6:2, 6:3.

Four-to-one (bet365) says that Baghdatis can take the match in three sets again, whilst 11/8 (ladbrokes, Spreadex) says the result will be played out over three sets. What`s more, Baghdatis is best priced 13/2 with ladbrokes to lose the first set and win the match for the second time in succession. A similar victory for the player ranked at number 25 is 5/1 with ladbrokes and Willam Hill.

Bet365 are offering 5/4 on their being a first set tie-break, Coral`s 4/6 says it won`t. Indeed, Bwin`s 10/29 says there will be a tie-break at some point during the clash.

Go To bet365

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04/02/2015     © Frixo 2026