Querrey sets up a rematch of the Newport final against Ram

Indianapolis, USA – Third seed Sam Querrey carries the weight of expectation in Andy Roddick’s stead, at Indianapolis. Querrey is the highest ranked American in the draw and a two-time semi-finalist, but the home favourite is set to battle compatriot, Rajeev Ram for a spot in the quarters. Their second round clash has the added drama of being a rematch of the Newport final of a fortnight ago in which Ram stunned Querrey 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3.

Elsewhere, Americans John Isner and Taylor Dent will battle eighth seed Denis Istomin and Marcos Daniel, respectively, for a spot in the final eight.

Tennis Betting Line: Sam Querrey -300 Rajeev Ram +200

Match Time: 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday July 22, 2009

Tennis Betting Analysis:

Sam Querrey -300: No.37 Sam Querrey reached back-to-back semis in his last two trips to Indianapolis. In 2007, he lost to eventual champion Dmitry Tursunov and the following year, he lost to eventual champion Gilles Simon.

Querrey opened his bid this year with a comprehensive victory over Arnaud Clement on Monday. He is 23-17 on the season with two runner-up finishes – Auckland and Newport. This is his first tournament back since losing the title match to Ram at Newport.

Rajeev Ram +200: The No. 108 ranked American owns a 1-0 edge over Querrey after beating Querrey in a three set thriller at Newport for the title. Significantly, Ram (ranked No.181 at the time) enjoyed a Cinderella run that began in the qualies and saw him take out higher ranked opposition in Alejandro Falla, Jesse Levine, Olivier Rochus and Sam Querrey.

Tennis Betting Verdict: Querrey cannot be thrilled to have to meet Ram so early in the tournament, seeing the memory of his crushing loss at Newport is so fresh. On the upside, though, he has a second shot at Ram and the bookies favour him to come through, avenging that loss to go the Indianapolis quarters. Clearly, Sam Querrey is the better play and Ram is out of his league – on paper at least – in this matchup. Yet, this is the same matchup we saw at Newport. And, we know how that one went down, so should Ram be underestimated. At +200 underdog tennis odds he does hold value – he has the recent victory over Querrey (big confidence boost) and conversely, Querrey has a tendency to be patchy and lose focus in matches (not a safe bet). If Querrey falls behind he can starts to mope and inevitably, plays himself out of the match. Granted, it is more likely Querrey will avenge the loss but I cannot help turning back to Ram.

Tennis Betting Free Picks: Ram in three sets