Events 
/ Sean Calvert / 12 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Nicolas Almagro can beat an out-of-sorts Robin Soderling today
"Soderling and Almagro have met numerous times, with Sod leading 4-3
overall, but the Spaniard has won three of their four clashes on the
red dirt and the last three in a row as betting underdog."
Robin Soderling should have been dumped out of the Rome Masters yesterday and though credit should go to him for surviving three match points, he may not be so fortunate today. Over to you Almagro...
If, like me, you were watching Stan Wawrinka versus Filippo Volandri on Wednesday with cash down, then you have my sympathy.
Volandri should have won, but somehow didn't - even after more than 40 unforced errors from the Swiss and an incredible 11 breaks of serve in the match - it wasn't one for the feint hearted.
And Rafa Nadal's patchy performance in his first match of the tournament has seen him ease to over [2.0] in the outright betting.
On to Thursday then and the men's third round matches at the Foro Italico and I'm on another odds-against shot today in the night match on Pietrangeli court.
Robin Soderling should consider himself incredibly fortunate to have reached this stage of the Rome Masters, as it was only a massive choke from Fernando Verdasco on Tuesday night that saved his bacon.
FerVer held three match points on his own serve and blew them all, which eventually led to a deciding set win for the Swede. But Verdasco's Spanish compatriot, Nicolas Almagro, has a fine chance of retribution today at around [2.24].
Soderling has been well below par this clay court season so far and the upheaval of splitting with coach, Claudio Pistolesi, and the appointment of Fredrik Rosengren can't have helped his preparations.
Indeed, since parting ways with Magnus Norman, the man widely credited for curbing Sod's notorious temper, the outbursts have begun to return on court and one wonders whether the Swede has gone as far as he can for now.
Soderling and Almagro have met numerous times, with Sod leading 4-3 overall, but the Spaniard has won three of their four clashes on the red dirt and the last three in a row as betting underdog.
Almagro is twice a quarter finalist here, whereas Soderling has never bettered the last 16 and after breaking into the top-10 in the world rankings last week, I expect the Murcia-born 25-year-old to keep up his red dirt dominance over his struggling rival.
Recommended bet:
Back Almagro to beat Soderling at [2.24]
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