The Overrule: French Open Men's Quarter Finals

By Sports Magician

Novak Djokovic and Jurgen Melzer meet in the last eight on Wednesday for the right to lose to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals on Friday. Melzer has been a revelation during the past two weeks, finally adding some consistency to his game, which saw him destroy David Ferrer in straight sets. Many would have expected to see Ferrer against Djokovic at this stage, but Melzer put an end to those expectations in the third round.

Djokovic has been able to reach this stage of the tournament under the radar thanks to a kind draw. The Serbian came into the French Open with some doubts over his health, as he continues to struggle with allergy and breathing difficulties. The only problems during his passage to the last eight have come via lapses in concentration that has seen him drop the odd set. Djokovic has won both of his previous meetings with Melzer, although they have never met on clay.

Melzer is known for falling apart and I can see exactly that happening in his first ever quarter-final appearance at a Grand Slam. Djokovic can cover the match games handicap and a good price is available on the absence of a tie-break in the match, which is a market we have profited from before a few times on clay.

QUARTER-FINAL SELECTIONS:

PICK: 3*(MATCH HANDICAP) NOVAK DJOKOVIC (-5.5 GAMES) BEAT JURGEN MELZER @ 1.83 (STAN JAMES)

PICK: 2.5*NOVAK DJOKOVIC/JURGEN MELZER NO TIE-BREAKS IN MATCH @ 2.00 (WILLIAM HILL)

Sports Magician