tennis | Thursday, September 29, 2022 7:59 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Sofia, Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco

Jon Reid

Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco Best Bet: Thursday, September 29th

Another absolutely incredible loss as our 4.00 odds underdog went down from 7-6, *6-5 up serving for the match and also managed to void the +4 games handicap! The hits keep coming, as we await a few like that to come back our way.

Onto Thursday, where – just as we did on Wednesday – we’ll play the last match on court for the day in Sofia. This time around, it’s Aleksandar Vukic taking on seasoned veteran Fernando Verdasco for a spot in the quarterfinals.

In this article:

Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco Preview
Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco Best Bet

Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco Preview

September 29th, 17:30 UK Time

What an incredible opportunity for both of these gentlemen on Thursday evening in the Bulgarian capital. With Verdasco now 38 years old, but still grinding away on the Challenger circuit, and the younger Aussie struggling to find form, both of these men have a great shot at reaching an ATP Tour quarterfinal on Thursday.

That’s because both were graced with an incredible draw, as Verdasco was pitted against the woeful Nikoloz Basilashvili (who has won one match in his last nine – and even that was from a set and break down after a freak injury force his opponent to retire). Vukic, on the other hand, took on the mercurial Fabio Fognini, who’s emotions got the best of him on the day, to say the least.

Now squaring off with one another, I’d expect this one to play out in a pretty tight manner. For starters, these courts are playing quick this year. We’ve seen clay courters with one-handed backhands play multiple tiebreaks in a match with under 10 break points between them in the opening sets. That should tell you something about the court speeds this season. Further, as the last match on centre court for the day, the fact that the court has been used all week and will have been played on all day only serves to accentuate that fact.

Next, neither of these guys is particularly strong on return. With Verdasco being 38 now and mobility not a strength and Vukic a little too clumsy with his returns of serve, both should be finding plenty of service holds throughout this match.

Finally, the fact we have two players who’s backhands aren’t that great that play with the opposite hands means we should see both possess a big advantage when serving. Being able to serve to the backhand and dictate play in cross-court exchanges on their forehands should also limit how much pressure we see applied to either of their serves.

Aleksandar Vukic vs Fernando Verdasco Best Bet

While I prefer the younger Vukic in terms of who is more likely to emerge victorious, his price of 1.78 isn’t nearly as enticing as the over 22.5 games market that is priced right around 1.90.

With the court speeds in Sofia justifying this being set at 23 games and the favourite in the match (Vukic) not being the strongest or most competent player returning serve, the chances of this one being a close match and clearing that 22.5 games total are well worth a wager.