Federer and Djokovic vie for Dubai Duty Free favouritism

It’s the turn of the men in Dubai this week after the WTA’s Dubai Duty Free last week and after Caroline Wozniacki’s triumphed as favourite, backing the favourite this week looks the best option.

Except punters are struggling to decide who deserves the ATP Dubai betting favouritism with Roger Federer available at 6/4 and Novak Djokovic at 7/4 to win this week.

Djokovic’s victory over Federer in the Australian Open semi-final has led many to believe that the Serb is set for a strong year, but this is Djokovic’s first tournament since his Grand Slam win and he faces a tough first round match against Michael Llodra.

Djokovic may be the 1/9 favourite to beat Llodra, but the Frenchman defeated Djokovic in their most recent encounter in Paris in November, and at 5/1, Llodra is a huge price to beat a man who hasn’t stepped onto a tennis court in three weeks.

It was a comfortable straight sets win for Llodra in Paris and while Djokovic won the only other meeting between the two in 2007, it’s worth taking a punt on the Frenchman.

Federer opens his Dubai Duty Free Championships with a match against unknown Indian Somdev Devvarman.

While this is also Federer’s first tournament since his Australian Open defeat, Devvarman – the world number 79 – isn’t in the same class as Llodra and Federer’s Dubai Duty Free odds of 1/66 to beat Devvarman suggest this match could be over quickly.

The standout tie of the first round is Mikhail Youzhny’s clash with Giles Simon and while the betting makes this a tight match, Youzhny’s 7-0 head-to-head record over Simon suggests the Russian is incredible value at 4/6 to win.

Elsewhere Philipp Kohlschreiber offers plenty of value at 6/5 to beat Viktor Troicki having won both encounters with the Serb in 2010.

A £25 stake on Kohlschrieber beating Troicki would return £55. New customers can sign up here for a free bet worth £25.