Game of the day sees Gasquet pit his wits against Davydenko
Published:Easy victories for both Nikolay Davydenko and Richard Gasquet in the first round has provided the US Open with a mouth-watering second round clash.
In his first full season back since being cleared of drugs charges, Gasquet will be hoping to take the scalp of the sixth seed Davydenko as he looks to recapture the form that saw him as high as seventh in the world rankings in 2007.
The man with the most stylish backhand in tennis is 7/4 to defeat Davydenko, and their 1-1 head-to-head record would suggest we’re about to witness another battle.
Neither player would class the hard courts as their best surface but Davydenko’s form on said courts is slightly better in the lead up to the tournament, he is 5/1 to win the match in five sets.
Elsewhere the American crowd will be looking forward to the return of Maria Sharapova as she takes on the Czech Iveta Benesova.
Benesova has fallen victim to Marion Bartoli and Caroline Wozniacki in her previous two tournaments, but has also beaten Jelena Jankovic and could provide Sharapova with a tougher match than her 7/1 odds suggest.
That said, Sharapova should have the quality to win in straight sets – she is 1/5 to do so.
His 16/1 odds imply that Andreas Beck isn’t given much of a chance against Roger Federer, the German better suited to the clay courts, and Federer should have no problem in disposing Beck in three sets at 1/6.
Mardy Fish takes on clay-court specialist Pablo Cuevas in the first match on the Louis Armstrong stadium and is 1/2 to win in three sets.
With Roddick losing, Federer’s only main danger in the bottom half of the draw is Novak Djokovic and Federer is 6/4 to win the US Open. See the full US Open tennis betting market here.
