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Mixed martial arts Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Barcelona, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori Best Bet: Thursday, April 20th
Well, Francesco Passaro looked thoroughly outmatched in his contest with Francisco Cerundolo. He doesn’t possess the power of the Argentine, but he certainly has more offensive capabilities than he showed on Wednesday.
Let’s move onto Thursday and preview another matchup from the 500-level event in Barcelona, this time between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Emil Ruusuvuori.
In this article:
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori Preview
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori Best Bet
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori Preview
April 20th, 11:30 (UK Time)
Ruusuvuori must be counting his blessings for being in the third round of this event. After drawing one of the worst players on clay among the world’s top-100 in Alexander Bublik (primarily for his disdain for the surface), he was on the ropes against Frances Tiafoe in his second match and elicited a third-set choke from the American to get over the finish line.
In fact, he trailed by a double break in the second set as well, before forcing a tiebreak there. He was a point away on several occasions from being down a double break in the third to boot.
The Finnish No. 1 is no clay courter in his own right. He plays a lower margin for error game, without much spin, and the combination of those two things makes it tough to find consistent success on the dirt.
Davidovich Fokina is also a volatile player, but won’t have any issues playing a match that involves powerful ball striking from the baseline.
He’s also a bit more natural in terms of movement and the footwork needed on the surface than Ruusuvuori.
His athleticism should also be a factor in this tilt. While Ruusuvuori is capable of striking the ball well, the slower surface and the Spaniard’s ability to track down balls and prolong points could really trouble a flat hitter and sometimes error prone guy in Ruusuvuori.
I’ll side with the better clay courter, who can stick around in big-hitting rallies and who has more tools to help him succeed on clay.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori Best Bet
The main concern surrounding the 23-year-old entering this week was his health. He had issues in his match with Marco Cecchinato a few weeks ago in Portugal that led to an off-court medical timeout, as well as the trainer being called out to the court on another occasion.
That may have contributed to last week’s lopsided loss to Karen Khachanov in Monte Carlo, but he looked like he was back up to speed in his first match this week, as he had a relatively routine win against an in-form Tomas Martin Etcheverry – someone who is leaps and bounds better on this surface than Ruusuvuori.
Throw in the fact that he’s a player that can ride waves of emotion and is playing in front of a Spanish crowd, and I have trouble believing this handicap should be below 4.5 or 5 games.
I’ll gladly give up the 3.5-game head start here to gain a full game edge on the markets.
- Selection: Davidovich Fokina -3.5 Games
- Best Odds: 1.93 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as at 3:00 am on April 19th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
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