After a cruisy 4-1 win over the Czech Republic in Round 1 of the Davis Cup, the Australian team advanced to the quarter finals and will now play the United States starting on the 7th of April. We break down the big clash as well as the rest of the quarter final matchups below.
2017 Davis Cup Quarter Finals Betting Tips
Australia vs United States (Brisbane, Australia)
World No.44 Bernard Tomic will be unavailable for the tie against the United States, marking the 2nd straight fixture he has missed through ‘off court problems’. The Australians will have world No.16 Nick Kyrgios though, who is in the best form of his career, having beaten Novak Djokovic twice in the last month. Kyrgios will be joined by world No.79 Jordan Thompson in the singles fixtures while Sam Groth and John Peers will play doubles for the Aussies.
It’ll be a tough test for the Aussies, as the States are renowned for having one of the deepest squads in world tennis. World No.15 and 23 in Jack Sock and John Isner will be extremely tough matches but the Aussies spirits will be lifted by the absence of all-time great doubles team in the Bryan brothers Bob and Mike.
Really tough to see a scenario in which Jordan Thompson pinches a game off either Isner or Sock, so the Aussies will pray that Kyrgios can win both of his matches and steal the doubles as well. Tall order, hate to say it but I’m leaning towards the Yanks here.
TIP: United States to win - $1.71 at Sportsbet
Belgium vs Italy (Charleroi, Belgium)
Italy were shock winners over No. 1 seed Argentina in the first round and will face 7th seed Belgium in the quarters starting on Thursday. Italy’s chances will be hindered with the possible absence of world No.28 Fabio Fognini, who suffered a wrist injury at the Miami open recently. If he does miss, the Italians will go into the tie with Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi, Simone Bolelli and Alessandro Gianessi, of which the higest ranked player is Lorenzi at No.38.
Italy look to still have the upper hand over the Belgians in terms of depth, however, who’s tennis stocks aren’t the deepest at the best of times. The good thing is, world No.14 David Goffin should be a class above anyone else who takes the court over the three day tie, so if the Belgians can get two wins out of them, world No.53 Steve Darcis should only have to manage a win from his two games to seal the deal. Going with the Belgians here.
TIP: Belgium to win - $1.83 at Sportsbet
France vs Great Brittain (Rouen, France)
Both the seeded teams advanced from Round 1 here to face each other in the quarter finals. France have arguably the deepest ranks in tennis right now with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Lucas Pouille and Richard Gasquet all ranked inside the top 22 in the world. Even their 2nd team would be pretty lethal with the likes of Giles Simon, Benoit Paire and Nicholas Mahut all hailing from France.
Athough they do have the current world No.1, it’s tough to see Great Brittain finding another win apart from the 2 that Andy Murray will inevitably get, with their next best player being ex bad-boy Daniel Evans at world No.44. I usually like to go with the team that has the best player because it means they only have to win one of the three remaining games, but really can’t see the Brits getting the job done here.
TIP: France to win - $1.27 at Sportsbet
Serbia vs Spain (Belgrade, Serbia)
In my opinion, the most interesting matchup outside of the Aussies is that of Serbia vs Spain. Novak Djokovic will appear for the Spaniards, but Spanish star Rafael Nadal will miss the tie. Spain’s next best players, Roberto Bautista Agut and David Ferrer will also miss through injury, however, the Spaniards have a very deep squad and will call upon world No.19 Pablo Carreno Busta who will be joined by Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.
You would think Novak will win both of his matches here, but the Serbian teams falls away pretty dramatically after that. With doubles specialist Marc Lopez joining world No.45 Marcel Granollers in the doubles fixture, Spain should get the win over a pair of Serbians who will be ranked outside the top 60. Victor Troicki will be Serbia’s second singles player and he should just have enough to get over at least one of the Spanish singles players but I’m going with the value here.
TIP: Spain to win - $3.80 at Sportsbet
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
