ATP CINCINNATI MASTERS BETTING RODDICK VS. FISH

An American will feature in the Cincinnati Masters final on Sunday, something that has to be good for American tennis and fans alike. The question is which American it will be. Will it be Andy Roddick, long an American standard in the game and role model or Mardy Fish, forever streaky but when on, he’s scary hot.
Roddick and Fish are set to decide a spot in the final today when they collide in the semi-finals. Roddick gets the favourite nod at William Hill, listed at 8/13 to win outright. Fish is tipped rather delicately, just a smidgen large of Evens at 6/5.  
This all-American billing featured recently in Atlanta and the outcome was most interesting. Fish snapped a seven-year losing streak to Roddick en route to the title.
The Atlanta account is representative of the current market on this match. On the back of that win, Fish has the 1-0 edge on 2010.
Had the market been built on their head-to-head series proper, Roddick would have been much shorter and Fish much longer. Roddick has the comprehensive 9-2 edge lifetime.
Fish is in the midst of a makeover, a makeover so complete he is almost unrecognizable.  Fish made a decision to invest in his fitness and form this season and its paying dividends. He is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour right now having played to an 11-1 mark ahead of Cincinnati, which includes two titles, spanning two different surfaces.
In Cincinnati, he improves his mark to 15-1 with wins over Gilles Simon, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray.
While Fish has been trending positively, Roddick has been trending negatively. Since an untimely exit at Wimbledon and before Cincinnati, Roddick deposited an underwhelming 3-2 account, highlighted by losses to Fish and Simon (Washington).
His camp’s announcement that he has been suffering from a mild case of mono chalks these disappointments neatly at the feet of the illness. We are to understand, therefore, that these results aren’t symptomatic of a crisis of confidence or any such thing that would cast doubt on his innate competitiveness.
In Cincinnati Roddick underscores this notion by seemingly turning things around and reaching the semis. He’s after improving his mark to 7-2 with wins over Stakhovsky, DeBakker, Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic. The latter two victories that were over top ten opposition perhaps strike the most audible chord.
Both players loom large and each has set himself up rather well to advance into the final, making this a tough match to call. It is in many ways a tossup. What is certain is that if they live up to their recent form, this will be a jaw-dropping contest.