Tennis Betting Advice - February 2022
ATP Cordoba - a motivated underdog at 20/1...
Wednesday 2nd February 2022
The men’s tour resumes this week with three ATP events. In India, they’re playing on outdoor hard courts in Pune. In France, indoor hard courts at Montpellier. And in Argentina, it’s always going to be clay…
I watched and waited during the ATP Cordoba 1st round. The Last 16 matches start from 5.30pm today (UK time). And there’s one player in particular that merits worth following as an underdog in the betting…
A motivated underdog at 20/1…
Back in 2019, Juan Ignacio Londero was one of the biggest surprise stories of the season, winning the Cordoba title seemingly out of nowhere.
Given a ‘wild card’ into the draw as an Argentinean home player, Londero went the whole way that week – as a 150/1 rank outsider in the Outright Winner betting. Recording an emotional victory in front of a raucous crowd, for what remains to this day the 28-year-old’s only ATP title.
Perhaps understandably, Juan Ignacio had a bit of a lull after that, and of course there was the pandemic. This week, Londero plays back here at the scene of his greatest triumph, now age 28, and ranked no.139 in the world (career-best ranking: no.50).
Once again, the Argentinean has been handed a wild card. And in the 1st round, he took full advantage, running out a 2-0 winner over the pre-match favourite, Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
That 1st-round win could prove a significant confidence boost for the home player here. In 2020, when defending his Cordoba crown, Londero won two matches before falling in the quarter finals. In 2021, he went out in the very 1st round. This evening’s opponent Pedro Martinez is younger (24), and higher-ranked (no.61). The Spaniard is a clay-court specialist – but so is Londero…
Their one previous meeting, in a non-Tour event in the German tennis ‘Bundesliga’ last year, saw Martinez squeak it 2-1, in a contest decided by a Champions Tiebreak in place of a full third set: 6-2, 6-7, 12-10. If we can read anything into that score-line, it’s that there’s not much between these two on a clay court.
With home advantage a real consideration here, and Londero likely to be more motivated here than at any other tournament in the world. The Argentinean is an underdog to follow today. He’s a 7/4 (2.75) outsider to beat Martinez, and 20/1 for another dream run to the trophy.
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Ones to Watch picks:
ATP Cordoba – Cordoba Open
Match Winner:
Outright Winner – Each Way:
Each Way terms 1/2 odds 1-2 places
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Play starts in Cordoba from 5.30pm, UK time. Bookies suspend Outright Winner markets when the day’s play begins. Martinez v Londero is scheduled for 7pm+.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson