We take a look at selected round of 32 matches from the ATP Tour’s Tokyo Open taking place at Ariake Coliseum Mosashino, Forest Sports Plaza.
ATP Tour 2019 | ATP 500 Series | Tokyo Open
Ariake Coliseum Mosashino, Forest Sports Plaza, Tokyo, Japan
Selected Round of 32 Matches – 2 October 2019
David Goffin (6/10)
vs Pablo Carreno Busta (13/10)
The resurgence of David Goffin in the latter half of this season has taken many off guard, not least of which myself. The indefatigable Belgian seemed to be on the wane over the past year, with many of the so-called ‘Next Gen’ players surpassing the workmanlike player. Semi-finals at the Open 13 and Estoril were all that the first half of the season had to offer. But he has hit the afterburners as the season has progressed, starting with a surprising run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. He lost finals in Halle and Cincinnati, eventually losing to Roger Federer in the 4th round of Flushing Meadows. Goffin also has tremendous tournament credentials. He reached the 2016 final here prior to finally capturing the title in 2017. Goffin loves indoor hardcourts but needs to overcome feisty Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Pablo Carreno Busta is part of a vanguard of Spanish players who seem to have swapped clay-court proficiency for hardcourt abilities. It hasn’t been the greatest season for the 2016 US Open finalist and 2017 Aussie Open semi-finalist. But he also seems to have found some later season mojo, coming off a victory in the Chengdu Open. It helped reinvigorate a season which had largely disappointed: semi-finals in Antalya and Germany have been his best results thus far. But he has certainly been peaking at a bigger breakthrough, with a 3rd round run in the US Open and last 16 appearance at Cincinnati. But there is certainly a plus for Carreno Busta, who easily overcame David Goffin at the recent Moselle Open in Metz.
As noted above, Carreno Busta absolutely blitzed David Goffin at the recent Moselle Open. It took his head-to-head advantage to 2-1, with Goffin winning their previous match at this year’s US Open. I think that the Spaniard should represent excellent value this week. Goffin mat be starting to feel the weight of yet another exhaustive season: he seriously could afford to play less events each year.
Alex De Minaur (1/4)
vs Lloyd Harris (11/4)
This match represents a clash between two of the up and coming players of the next generation. On one hand you have the more established Alex De Minaur. He has experienced a tremendous season, fully showing incremental improvements. Last year he reached two ATP Finals, losing in both the Sydney and Washington finals: he also made it to the final of the NextGen Finals, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. This year he has reigned supreme in minor events, claiming three hardcourt titles. He won titles in Sydney, Atlanta and obviously captured the title in the Zhuhai Championships last week. He also made it to the final 16 at Flushing Meadows, showcasing signs of improvement on the biggest stage. De Minaur is poised to become the Ashleigh Barty of the men’s game will feel confident entering the final weeks of the season.
Lloyd Harris, at 22 years of age, perhaps represents the future of South African men’s tennis, especially with the dwindling fortunes of Kevin Anderson. Harris certainly does possess some hardcourt pedigree, with 20 of his ITF and Future finals coming on harder surfaces. He also has made slow progress this year, making it through to the main draw of every slam: he ultimately won his first Grand Slam match at this year’s French Open. Perhaps more crucially, Harris is coming off of his debut ATP semi-final appearance. He actually reached the semi-final of the Chengdu Open as a lucky loser, overcoming a brutal draw that included Fucsovics, Lajovic and Sousa. Harris is a player who is trending in the right direction and will have benefited immeasurably from last week’s semi-final run. He will go into this match as the extreme underdog, which suited him just fine in last week’s event in Chengdu.
Considering Aussie De Minaur is coming off such a high, it think that Harris is well worth a long shot bet at 11/4. I just think that 11/4 is rare to see for a player coming off a semi-final berth.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets
