Football 
Horse Racing 
Mixed martial arts Tuesday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Rome, Alexander Shevchenko vs Arthur Fils
Alexander Shevchenko vs Arthur Fils Best Bet: Tuesday, May 9th
Two lopsided sets for Juan Manuel Cerundolo and we are able to cash both of our bets in the under 20.5 games, as well as the -5 games.
Lovely to get off to a nice start on some larger bets after a tough first few days a week ago.
We’ll look to keep it going on Tuesday, as the qualifying draw in Rome wraps up and we determine which 12 men will join the remainder of the field in the main draw. Let’s delve into the match between Alexander Shevchenko and Arthur Fils.
In this article:
Alexander Shevchenko vs Arthur Fils Preview
May 9th, 13:00 (UK Time)
If there’s one match tomorrow from the men’s qualifying event to tune into, this is it.
You’ve got one young gun in tremendous form, with a strong game and comfort on clay (Shevchenko) taking on another that is even younger, with a huge game, but is still developing on the dirt at the top level of the game (Fils).
To this point in his career, much of Fils’ success on the clay has come at the juniors level, as well as the lower-level ITF Tour.
He’s still making his way on the surface on the Challenger Tour in main draws, but last week in France was a step forward, as he managed to beat his compatriots Gregoire Barrere (who led most of the match) and Quentin Halys. Neither is particularly good on clay, but they’re ATP Tour calibre players nonetheless.
He’s actually managed to play four consecutive third-set tiebreaks on clay, which isn’t something you see everyday, with the most recent of those coming as a 1.20 odds favourite in the opening round of qualifying against a less-than-stellar clay courter in Ryan Peniston.
His movement is strong and he’s developing some decent defensive play, but his bread and butter – a big first serve and forehand combination – simply isn’t as effective on clay as on hard courts.
With Shevchenko coming off a Challenger title in Madrid a few weeks ago, as well as a run to the third round of the 1000-level event in the same city last week, I lean towards him being a strong favourite.
He has a big game in his own right, and the fact that he’s beaten some big names in recent tournaments dating back to the first ever Challenger 175 in Phoenix makes me believe he’s ready to compete full time on the ATP Tour.
Even in Madrid last week, one of the best players of 2023 in Daniil Medvedev required a 7-5 third set to take him out. Granted, Medvedev isn’t at his best on clay, but that’s still a close loss against one of the world’s best.
Alexander Shevchenko vs Arthur Fils Best Bet
As impressed as I’ve been with Fils’ improvement on clay over the course of the last two weeks, I’m still not ready to believe he’s at the point in his young career on the dirt that his counterpart in this one is.
Shevchenko is also incredibly talented, young and on the ascent.
The difference? He’s in better form on clay at the moment and has always been a bit more comfortable than Fils, whose primary successes have come at the ITF level and in juniors.
With the serve being less potent here in the slow conditions in the Italian capital, I have Shevchenko 3.5-to-4 games better than the 18-year-old.
- Selection: Shevchenko -2.5 Games
- Best Odds: 1.91 (Unibet)
- Stakes: 3/10
Odds as at 5:00 am UK Time on May 9th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
More Alexander Shevchenko vs Arthur Fils Tips
