Davydenko, Tsonga good value in Shanghai

Masters Cup in Shanghai, China

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Juan Martin Del Potro



11th November - 10:00 GMT

Head-to-Head Statistics
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Juan Martin del Potro
(0 - 1)
Pilot Pen Tennis
2007-08-19	1/32	J. del Potro	2-1	J.-W. Tsonga	3-6	6-3	6-4

After losing both of their respective opening matches, Tsonga and Del Potro need to win their two remaining round-robin matches in order to reach the semi-finals.Tsonga lost a knife-edge encounter against Nikolay Davydenko in his opening match, courtesy of a final set tie-break, and I feel that he will be the more pumped up of the two players. Del Potro has an upcoming Davis Cup Final to worry about, and so although I'm sure he will be trying his best, there will always be the thought of "well, there's always next week", no matter how much people will insist that these sportsmen are professionals and they give 110% effort etc. The Argentinian leads the H2H 1-0, but that match was over a year ago and both players have progressed dramatically since then. Tsonga seems the type of player who lets complacency get the best of him, with his numerous recent 2-1 wins hinting that he either starts off slowly and not in the right frame of mind, or that he becomes complacent after winning the opening set, often going for the 'Kodak' shot rather than playing percentage tennis.

I feel that Tsonga will be fired up to win this, and Del Potro may give up slightly easily if he falls behind.

Novak Djokovic vs Nikolay Davydenko



11th November 12:00 GMT

Head-to-Head Statistics
Novak Djokovic vs. Nikolay Davydenko
(0 - 1)
Davis Cup 1. round
2008-02-10	Match 1 - Round 1	N. Davydenko	1-2	N. Djokovic	4-6	3-6	6-4

Having backed Davydenko to qualify from the group, we're reluctant to get over-involved in his group matches - however, when an opportuniy arises,it must be taken with both hands. As mentioned in our tournament preview, Djokovic's tank seems to be nearing empty, and we can't fathom why he is priced up as 1.5 or less with most bookies. Granted, it is a 'must win' match and he is a Grand Slam winner, but we cannot discount Davydenko after an admirable performance against Tsonga. Although he showed plenty of nerves in that match, he came through in emphatic fashion, winning the final set tie-break to love.

Davydenko has the weapons to hurt Djokovic, and the prices simply don't reflect this.

NJ's Bets:

Tsonga to beat Del Potro - 3pts @ 1.73 (Sky Bet)

Davydenko to beat Djokovic - 3pts @ 2.9 (Betfair)