Murray withdrawal should make little difference to Berdych chances
Published:Andy Murray’s troublesome groin means he ends the year on a sour note, but Tomas Berdych looks set to take full advantage and can overcome his replacement, Janko Tipsarevic.
Murray’s groin problems, aggravated in a clash with David Ferrer, escalated to the point that the Scot was forced to admit his continuation in the tournament would only be a detriment to himself.
His next scheduled opponent, Tomas Berdych, made a great fist of his opening ATP World Tour match with World No.1 Novak Djokovic, and can convert his impressive effort in that match into a win against Murray’s replacement, the Serbian Tipsarevic.
Berdych is priced at 1/2 to win the match and, having wasted a match-point against Djokovic on his way to being overcome, the 6/5 for the Czech to win by two sets to nil looks appealing.
Tipsarevic, ranked No.9 in the world, is an undoubted threat, but will be making his maiden ATP Tour Finals appearance and, with limited preparation time given to a stand-in player, a longer 13/8 on the Serb to win the match is understandable.
Murray’s replacement is 4/1 to get off to a blistering start to his ATP career and win in straight sets.
Those who feel Berdych may make a slow start but ultimately have too much quality for his opponent, will lap up the 9/2 on the Czech losing the first set but going on to win the match.
Tipsarevic is 8/1 to come out on top in the same scenario.
6/5 is the price for a tie-break at some point in the match – as Berdych found himself locked in during his first game of the Tour finals – whilst the 8/13 for no tie-break shows that a dominant win for the more experienced competitor looks to be the most likely outcome here.
