ATP Tennis – Del Potro begins Rome campaign against Troicki

Rome, Italy – Last year, Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked No.77 in the world, made his Rome debut amidst very little fanfare. He opened his bid against a then No.18 ranked Andy Murray. Tensions ran high between the two in their first ever meeting and descended towards an on court quarrel. Murray first complained that Del Potro did not apologize for hitting a ball at him. Del Potro (apparently) retaliated by hurling insults at Murray and his mother. Needlessly, the match was a bit of a disgrace for both players, showing poor sportsmanship, and worse still for all concerned was when it ended with an injured Del Potro leaving the court in tears, retiring in the third set 7-5, 4-6, 0-1.

This time around, Del Potro enters the main draw as the fifth seed; he has a brand-spanking new ranking of world No.5 nestled next to his name. Definitely, there is lots of fanfare and anticipation for when he makes his first appearance on court. He would like to nothing better than to put last year’s memory behind him and for tennis fans to forget about it entirely. A solid showing against his opening challenger Viktor Troicki would do the trick.

Tennis Betting Line: Juan Martin Del Potro -600 Viktor Troicki +350

Match Time: 05:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday April 29 2009

Tennis Betting Analysis:

Del Potro -600: Juan Martin Del Potro is installed as the -600 favourite. That was to be expected. He is after all seeded fifth in the tournament and a top five player according to the ranking system. Yet, I am not convinced. I know he recently played a sensational match to upset the world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the Miami quarters and that because of that big scalp many experts are convinced he has finally arrived.

However, after the big win, Del Potro did not follow-up with another such scalp but lost to Andy Murray 1-6, 7-5, 2-6. In that match, he played a good second set. The first and last were wasted on him. Immediately afterwards, Del Potro made his Monte Carlo debut and instead of the anticipated challenge everyone expected he would put forward he bit the dust, falling to No.66 Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 1-6, 4-6.

So has he come of age, as most tennis bettors and pundits believe? Maybe it was nerves and the weight of expectation that comes with being a top five player that got to Del Porto. Whatever it is, he has to get over it. His fans are hoping he will get off to a better start in Rome.

Del Potro is 19-6 on the season but a concerning 0-1 on clay thus far. He has a 2-0 lifetime edge over Viktor Troicki, which includes a 1-0 edge over the Serbian in 2009, having beaten him in Auckland 6-3, 6-2.

Troicki +350: Viktor Troicki ranks No. 40 in the world. He arrives in Rome 11-10 on the season and 0-2 on clay, having crashed out of both the Monte Carlo and Barcelona first rounds. The latter was a 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 3-6 loss to Youzhny. Troicki has two noteworthy scalps on the season: he beat No.22 Tomas Berdych in Indian Wells and No. 14 David Nalbandian in Miami.

Tennis Betting Verdict: Few bettors expect Del Potro will falter in Rome as he did in Monte Carlo. His loss in Monte Carlo was not a complete surprise as Ivan Ljubicic was once a top five player and even though his better days are long behind him, he is still considered a threat. Unlike Ljubicic, Troicki is an unheralded player. Not of the same ilk. His game is better suited to hard courts. For all these parts, expect Del Potro to notch his first clay-court win of the season.

Tennis Betting Picks: Del Potro in straight sets