Against all expectations, Roberto Bautista Agut claimed the biggest win of his career over Novak Djokovic to reach the 2016 Shanghai Rolex Masters Final. Twelve month later, the Spaniard is looking for another successful run at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. Famous for having one of the best forehands on the ATP World Tour, the fast court conditions in Shanghai are perfect for Bautista Agut’s aggressive baseline game.
Hyeon Chung continues to pursue a spot at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan. Known as one of the most promising young players in the game, Chung holds a terrific 32 – 16 record in 2017. On the other hand, the 21-year-old won 72.87% of the matches played throughout his career on Asia. Despite his impressive numbers, Hyeon is making his first official apperance on the ATP World Tour since the US Open.
This will be the 2nd career meeting between these two players with Agut needing only 55 minutes to dispatch Chung by 6 – 0 6 – 1 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last season.
Despite Chung’s recent improvements, it won’t be easy for the South-Korean to find the answer to Bautista Agut’s aggressive game style. The bookmakers think the same with Roberto as the undeniable favourite to win this match at 3/10 at 5Dimes while Hyeon is available at 3/1 at BetVictor. Due to the low price on Bautista Agut’s moneyline, our suggestion is for you to place a bet on his -1.5 Set Handicap at 43/50 at Pinnacle as the best betting approach for this contest.
Best Play: Roberto Bautista Agut -1.5 Set Handicap at 43/50 at Pinnacle
At the age of 38, Ivo Karlovic continues to be one of the toughest challenges in the game. Known as one of the best servers in tennis history, the 6’11’’ is the all-time ace leader on the ATP World Tour with 12,242 perfect serves so far on his career. Despite his disappointing 44.44% winning record on Hard Court in 2017, the Croatian can never be underestimated on this surface. Adding to this, the fast court conditions in Shanghai are perfect for Karlovic’s powerful serve.
Playing in Shanghai brings the best out of Feliciano Lopez. In addition to his outstanding 18 – 8 career record on this event, the 36-year-old Spaniard is a three-time Shanghai Rolex Masters semi-finalist. Known as one of the few serve-and-volley players left on the ATP World Tour, it’s never easy to break Feliciano’s serve on these fast court conditions.
These two players will face each other for the 10th time in their careers with Karlovic leading on the h2h by 6 – 3.
Taking a look now at the odds for this encounter, the bookmakers consider Lopez the favourite at 67/100 at Pinnacle while 5Dimes offers 7/5 for Karlovic’s victory. Even though we understand Feliciano’s favouritism, it’s impossible to find any value on his current tennis betting odds. For that reason, our recommendation is for you place a bet on the Over 25.5 at 83/100 at BetOnline in a match where we should see at least a couple of tie breaks.
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