Bet on games rather than result as Murray chases semi-final spot
Published:Places in the semi finals of the Sony Ericsson Open are up for grabs in both the men’s and women’s draws and Andy Murray will fancy his chances of progressing past Janko Tipsarevic at 1/4 in the tennis odds.
However, this may be a tad short for him to beat a player that has won three of their seven career meetings and also the last to have been played on a hard court.
Rafael Nadal is also in action looking to seal a last-four encounter with Murray in Miami, while Victoria Azarenka features in the women’s draw looking to make it 27 successive victories on the WTA circuit.
Andy Murray v Janko Tipsarevic: Over 21.5 games @ 4/5
Picking a winner is tough as the pair tend to be evenly matched, but the fact that all of their seven career meetings have featured at least 22 games makes this a cracking price.
However, only three of these encounters have required a third set and just one of the past five.
Therefore, 11/8 could also be worth considering that a tie-break is needed to decide a set.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Rafael Nadal: First set over 9.5 games @ 8/13
Conditions are liable to favour Tsonga in this night game, where the ball will not only come onto the racquet slightly faster and he may have the edge in terms of crowd support.
This should see him fly out of the blocks and five of his last six meetings with Nadal on any surface aside from clay have needed at least ten games to settle the opening set.
Venus Williams to beat Agnieszka Radwanska @ 11/8
Williams has won the last six meetings between the pair, including the most recent which was also in Miami.
Her movement has improved throughout the tournament and the key could be the first set as Williams may struggle if falling a set behind like she has in the last two rounds against Aleksandra Wozniak and Ana Ivanovic.
Victoria Azarenka to beat Marion Bartoli 2-1 @ 3/1
Azarenka was fortunate to battle back against Dominika Cibulkova in the last round and Bartoli has a largely similar game, which could present further problems.
However, Azarenka remains unbeaten in 2012 and can keep this record intact in a tense third set.
