tennis | Thursday, November 24, 2022 8:53 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Challenger Andria, Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase

Jon Reid

Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase Best Bet: Thursday, November 24th

Lovely comeback win for Michael Geerts. That’s a few of those in a row now without having seen a blown lead. I could get used to that!

For Thursday’s selection from the men’s side of things, we look to the match between Leandro Riedi and Robin Haase from the Andria Challenger.

In this article:

Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase Preview
Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase Best Bet

Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase Preview

November 24th, 11:30 UK Time

This won’t be a popular pick among many who value recent form over all else. The young Swiss has certainly made an impression the last few weeks, as he won the title in Helsinki, Finland as a qualifier a week ago, and then managed to progress on Wednesday in his opening match in Italy.

That said, his game is one I simply don’t trust to sustain runs like these, and I’m going to look to oppose him on Thursday for a few reasons.

First, his performance in his opening round encounter with Frenchman Hugo Gaston was far from convincing, and a rather tough first match backing up his maiden Challenger title. He needed a pair of tiebreaks to get it done in straight sets and didn’t manage to generate a single break point opportunity against an underpowered Hugo Gaston. He also had to save four set points at *5-6 serving, with Gaston really applying pressure. He certainly looked vulnerable in his quest to keep his winning streak alive.

The other issue is his game style just isn’t one that lends itself to being a sizable favourite on quicker courts. He’s not the most adept on return, his backhand wing is exploitable, and if his first serve isn’t landing at a decent rate, it’s possible to apply pressure on his service games. Throw in a very flat-hitting style, that can be very boom-or-bust in whether it produces incredible shots or unforced errors and you’ve got a player that is talented, but still relatively raw.

Throw in a shaky win on Wednesday, a strong serve from his veteran opponent in Haase, and I’m happy to back this one being a close affair.

Leandro Riedi vs Robin Haase Best Bet

It feels like such an odd position to take, opposing the young Swiss, who I was backing relatively frequently earlier in the season.

The problem is, his game hasn’t really taken the step forward that one would like to see him go from a sizable underdog to a sizable favourite.

I’m still not sold on a few aspects of his game and coming off a long week and underwhelming opening-round match, I’m happy to back the veteran Dutchman to hold his serve regularly, keeping things tight and potentially pulling off the upset.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I’m not going to be going large on either position, simply because Haase has had the tendency in the past to play in a haphazard way at the Challenger level. He’s a veteran in his mid-30s and has been a top-35 player in the world in the past. Motivation issues may arise, but if he’s engaged, he’s got to the game to keep this close and defeat his younger competition.