Events 
/ Ben Caudell / 24 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Big Ivo knows how to serve
"I expect this match to be a close-fought battle which has three sets written all over it. Karlovic has the momentum though so he is the selection at [1.63]."
Ben Caudell looks out for winners at the Miami Masters and he's looking to a big server on a big run to do him a big favour
Florian Mayer (GER) v Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
Karlovic managed to squeeze into the Miami Masters main draw at the last minute when a wild card became available on Monday following Thiemo de Bakker's withdrawl from the tournament.
The 6'10" giant was reportedly livid with the tournament organisers after initially not even getting a wild card for due to his world ranking of 153. But it turns out that was a blessing in disguise.
Karlovic starts off this year's event against Germany's Florian Mayer having missed most of the 2010 season with an Achilles problem. His comeback wasn't as successful as he would have hoped until last week at Indian Wells where he turned it all around with wins over David Ferrer, Giles Simon and Albert Montanes, eventually losing at the quarter-final stage to Rafael Nadal in a third set tie-break.
With good form pushing him on and the added motivation of sticking two fingers up at the organisers who snubbed him we can expect good things of Karlovic. He also has a great chance of improving his world ranking back into the realms of the top 50.
The Croat leads their head-to-head series over Mayer 1-0, however this match was played way back in 2006 at the Sunrise Challenger tournament which the Croat took in three sets. Tonight's match will prove to be a tough match-up for Ivo, Mayer is a crafty veteran and a player who can mix all kinds of spin and slices to disrupt the rhythm of play. However, the German lost last week in straight sets to Andrey Golubev 6-2, 6-1 and prior to this to Marin Cilic in a five-set Davis cup match. It is also important to note that Mayer has lost four of his last five matches in the United States, where as Karlovic has won four of his last five.
I expect this match to be a close-fought battle which has three sets written all over it. Karlovic has the momentum though so he is the selection at [1.63].
My best bet however is to back over 23.5 games, Karlovic is a difficult player to break on serve (he has lost serve just four times in his last six matches) of the 11 best of three-set matches he has played so far this year, seven of 13 have been over 23.5 games with an average of 26 games played. The [1.9] on offer in the total games market looks to solid value for me.
Recommended Bets
Back Over 23.5 Games @ [1.9]
Back Ivo Karlovic @ [1.63]
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