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Murray and Berdych draw parallels as underdogs search for upset

| 08.02.2011

Like Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych suffered a disappointing exit at the hands of Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open and makes his return to action in Rotterdam this week.

The similarities with Murray don’t stop there as both are short-priced favourites against tricky first round opponents who offer the value in the ABN AMRO tournament betting.

Berdych is 1/3 to beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round but considering the Spaniard holds a 2-1 advantage in head-to-heads, winning as recently as October, Garcia-Lopez offers all the value.

Garcia-Lopez is a big price at 9/4 to beat Berdych and comes into the tournament on the back of a semi-final appearance in Zagreb last week.

All three previous ties between the two have ended in a straight sets win for the winner and Garcia-Lopez is available at 9/2 to win the match 2-0.

Robin Soderling vs Robin Haase

Robin Soderling also faces a tricky tie against an unknown opponent for the Swede, but at 1/7 to beat Robin Haase, the betting market fully expects Soderling to progress.

Haase is making his first appearance since losing to Andy Roddick in the third round of the Australian Open and is unfancied at 4/1 against a man who has reached two finals in his last four tournaments.

Punters will struggle to find value in this betting market and should settle for the 4/9 for Soderling to win in straight sets.

Ernestes Gulbis vs Thiemo de Bakker

The tightest betting match-up of the day in the ABN AMRO tournament betting is Ernestes Gulbis vs Thiemo de Bakker.

The two have never met and both suffered first round defeats at the Australian Open, but Gulbis is ranked 29 places higher than de Bakker and is a decent price at 8/15 to beat the Dutchman.

A £25 double on Garcia-Lopez beating Berdych would return £81.25. New customers can sign up here for a free bet worth £25.

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Author

Robbie Morris

Robbie studied sports journalism at the University of Gloucestershire, an establishment chosen for its proximity to Cheltenham racecourse, where he was a season ticket holder. Upon graduation, Robbie was a contributor to GolfPunk, a national magazine aimed at ridding golf of its traditionalist image, before joining the news.ladbrokes team.