ATP ROME MASTERS BETTING: SODERLING, LJUBICIC AND HEWITT BID FOR THIRD ROUND

Robin Soderling will be looking to serve up a win when he takes on local favourite Paolo Lorenzi in the second round of the Rome Masters on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Indian Wells champion Ivan Ljubicic and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt will hope to overcome clay-court specialists Nicolas Almagro and Guillermo Garcia Lopez, respectively.  William Hill has rolled out over 20 markets on each and every aspect of these matches, from odds on outright wins to set betting, games betting and much, more. 

Soderling is after a disappointing runner-up finish in Barcelona at the weekend (l. to Verdasco). Disappointing it was because since the French Open last year when he upset Rafael Nadal, en route to a runner-up finish (l. to Federer), and raised expectation, he has come up short in key matches. Why he hasn’t had a moment to rival his French Open, we can only speculate.
Not for a lack of opportunity; this year, he has had fair shots in Indian Wells and Miami, and as recently as Barcelona. Didn't he cave rather badly each time though. Still, many are of the opinion he might yet have another moment, this season.
Hope springs eternal, I suppose. If expectation breeds pressure and pressure is the best measure of a player, Soderling has to get a failing grade. No?
Why is all this important? Well, three disappointments in a row could wear down on a player. If he is at all frustrated, disenchanted or pessimistic (or all of it) he could be vulnerable to the upset.
On paper, there is nothing to suggest Lorenzi can beat Soderling. He only just notched his first ATP win on the tour this season so expecting him to go from zero to hero is a bit of a stretch.
Yet there is nothing to suggest Soderling might not fall flat. A few things to consider here, over and above his recent spate of disappointments a) he played a lot of tennis last week and b) he pulled out of Monte Carlo the week before last with an injury. Might not be enough reason to go against the grain and back Lorenzi but certainly worth some .
In other matches on the day, Ivan Ljubicic is disadvantaged at 13/8 over Nicolas Almagro at 4/9; and Lleyton Hewitt is favoured at 1/2 over Guillermo Garcia Lopez at 6/4. Almagro is the smart play over Ljubicic because he has surface edge over the savvy veteran. Ljubicic though can make things interesting.
Where Hewitt and Garcia-Lopez are concerned, their match is a bit of a toss-up, in my humble opinion. Hewitt is after an injury timeout and I don’t believe he has found the kind of form to beat a grinder like Garcia-Lopez, no less enjoy an extended stint in Rome. If he does beat Garcia-Lopez, I don’t expect it will be a convincing win but a three-set marathon.