Koubek and Fish the Value on Day Five

Australian Open Starts to Heat Up

As the men head into the third round, the cream starts to rise to the top in the Australian Open in Melbourne. Let's take a look at some upcoming matches to see if we can't uncover a spot of value with the current prices at PartyBets.

Stefan Koubek (2.40) to beat Paul Henri Mathieu

Koubek has been in great touch in this years Open, dispensing with two strong players in Moya and Calleri in his road to meeting Mathieu. He is quick around the court and doesn't give his opponents any peace at all. A streaky player like Mathieu is just the type of opponent he can knock off on his way to the fourth round. Mathieu's form has been patchy so far this year but in fairness he did look improved in his last outing against Capdeville. Koubek leads the head-to-head 2-1, and I think he will be able to get under Mathieu's skin, who has been prone to blow-ups in the past. The 2.40 looks excellent value.

Mardy Fish (1.98) to beat Jarkko Nieminen

Fish was simply awesome in the second round, dropping only 6 games in defeating Tommy Robredo. The American was in great touch at the net, and hit 39 winners in an impressive display. Fish was also in brilliant form in last years open, until he produced an embarrassing display against his countryman Roddick to exit the tournament.

Nieminen was in good touch defeating Jesse Levine in straight sets, although he was down a break in both the second and third sets. This was coming off a tough five setter against Frank Dancevic, where he appeared to switch off slightly after being up two sets to love. He has been in good form in the lead up events, being a finalist in the Adelaide International.

Interestingly, these two have never played. I am tipping Fish's aggressive attitude to continue and prove to be too much for the staunch defense of the Finn Nieminen, and am happy to take the 1.98 available. Hopefully he can continue with his good form and not lapse into the hole that produced last years humiliation at the hands of Roddick.

The other games appear to be reasonably straight forward and priced accordingly. If you are happy to take the short odds, Mikhail Youzhny should prove to have a more complete game than big Ivo Karlovic at 1.45, while Richard Gasquet should repeat his defeat of Igor Andreev from a couple of weeks ago, albeit at the short quote of 1.30.

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