ATP World Tour Finals odds
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London continue tonight when Tipsarevic plays Berdych and Djokovic plays Ferrer. World No #9 Tipsarevic is a late inclusion to the tournament after Andy Murray pulled out with a groin injury. Both Tipsarevic and Berdych need a win to keep their tournament effectively alive, while the winner of Djokovic and Ferrer will virtually assure progression to the semi-finals. You can follow all of the action from the official website here.
Below are the current group standings with each player’s win-loss record in brackets.
Group A:
1. Ferrer (1-0)
2. Djokovic (1-0)
3. Berdych (0-1)
4. Murray (0-1 – withdrawn from tournament)
5. Tipsarevic (0-0 – replaced Murray in the tournament)
Group B:
1. Federer (2-0)
2. Tsonga (1-1)
3. Nadal (1-1)
4. Fish (0-2)
Federer’s 6-3 6-0 demolition of Nadal has installed him as the firm favourite to take this year’s title. Tsonga and Nadal will play on Thursday to see who joins him in the semi-finals. For tournament winner betting, at 1.77 odds, Federer is a decent bet, while Tsonga at 13.00 stands out as a value bet.
November 23rd (local time) head to heads
Tipsarevic v Berdych
It will be interesting to see how well Tipsarevic is prepared for this after he was given only one day’s notice that he would be competing. He actually enjoys a 4-3 record against Berdych, having won two of their three meetings this year. Their most recent meeting was only a few weeks ago, when Berdych beat Tipsarevic 7-5 6-4 in Paris. I would argue that Berdych is in slightly better form than Tipsarevic at the moment. He showed good form in Paris and pushed Djokovic to a third set tie-breaker in his opening ATP Masters match. Interestingly, in three of the seven meetings between Tipsarevic and Berdych, the underdog has won on three occasions, which means this particular matchup can be a banana skin for punters. I tip Berdych to come out on top, but at 1.48 odds, it’s marginal whether backing him is worth the risk.
Djokovic v Ferrer
Both players come into this fixture on the back of wins in their opening games. Djokovic beat Berdych 3-6 6-3 7-6(3) while Ferrer saw off an injured Andy Murray 6-4 7-5. Both players have incredibly similar forms coming into this game with 7-3 records in their past ten competitive matches. There is an injury cloud over Djokovic’s shoulder, which forced him to withdraw from the ATP Paris event a few weeks ago, so keep that in mind when placing a wager. Some bookmakers issue refunds in the event of an injury withdrawal, while other services (like Betfair) will not. Head to head, Djokovic has a 6-4 record against Ferrer, but he has won the last five meetings between them. Ferrer last beat Djokovic in Shanghai in 2007. While Djokovic’s form has slipped since he won the US Open, I still expect him to be too strong for Ferrer. Despite the miserly 1.30 odds I would still back Djokovic to notch his second victory of the tournament.