Rafa Nadal v Marin Cilic: Nadal to win 3-0 in sets – 6/5
Rafa Nadal is in dominant form at the moment having crushed his first three opponents with typical ease and he then overcome a tough, yet beneficial match against the Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the most recent round.
He’s beaten Marin Cilic in straight sets in four of their last five meetings and history looks set to repeat itself here. The Croatian has been scraping through his matches so far and looks destined to be ran all over the court by the 16-time Grand Slam winner.
An analogy to best describe this match would be to picture Cilic in the quaint cobbled streets of Pamplona, initially feeling dapper and confident in his freshly pressed white shirt and red bandana.
But in a matter of minutes he realises what he has got himself in for as he runs for his life, chased by a magnificent Spanish Bull closing in for the impending goring.
Nadal to win in straight sets at 6/5 looks to be the value bet here.
Grigor Dimitrov v Kyle Edmund: Dimitrov to win 3-1 in sets – 5/2
Grigor Dimitrov was involved in one of the matches of the tournament when he overcame Australian superstar/bad-boy Nick Kyrgios an epic tussle in the last round and this will give him enormous confidence against Kyle Edmund.
These two have met twice in the past with Dimitrov coming away with the spoils on both occasions, all be it after dropping a set in both to the upstart British No.2.
I see it being no different here and the money bet looks to be Dimitrov to win 3-1 at 5/2. Edmund is riding a wave of good form at the moment so can’t be completely over looked. However, when push comes to shove, it is undeniable that the current ATP World Tour Finals champion is the class act here.
Elise Mertens v Elina Svitolina: Svitolina (-4.5) games – 4/5
Elina Svitolina is in the form of her life and along with Angelique Kerber is the player to beat in the Women’s draw this year. She didn’t get out of first gear against Denisa Allertova in the round of 16 and threw in a bagel (6-0) in the final set for good measure.
I have to pay some respect to Elise Mertens though, as she has won 11 matches in-a-row and absolutely deserves her places in the quarter finals.
However, class will come to the fore here and Svitolina should take this match without ever working up too much of a sweat. Svitolina to win -4.5 games is our punt at 4/5.
* All odds correct at time of posting.
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