Analysis for Youzhny-Cilic (Marseille)

Head-to-head record 1:0

Mikhail Youzhny of Russia will play Marin Cilic of Croatia for the second time this year. Most of you already know that we like Youzhny´s style of play and we rarely bet against him. He has had a great season so far. His first tournament of 2008 was Chennai in India, winning it by demolishing Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour of play. In the Australian Open, Youzhny posted his first career win over Nikolay Davydenko before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But his latest performances weren´t so stellar as he was struggling against Nenad Zimonjic, in Davis Cup. Youzhny plays with a single-handed backhand, which many believe to be his best shot. From both sides, he hits the ball on the rise to achieve a flatter flight trajectory and to get the ball to the opponent's side quicker. His service is probably the weakest point of his game as it lacks power and stability. He has a good court sense and often makes use of dropshots to mix up the rallies. He likes fast surfaces but exactly the same can be said about his opponent. Big serving Croat loves indoors conditions and he should be a tough opponent for Youzhny. So far in 2008, he has reached the semi-finals in Chennai where he went out 6-2, 6-3 to Youzhny. Cilic made it to the 4th round of the Australian Open, taking out 2 seeds on his way, including 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez. James Blake went on to beat him in straight sets in the 4th round. Cilic already lost to Youzhny this year but this surface should be even more suited to his game and having in mind Youzhny´s Davic Cup performance, we will take Croatian player for a small stake. Odds above 2.7 can be taken here.