Two bigger strikers of the ball come to meet in the second round in Marbella, with Norbert Gombos and Federico Delbonis set to do battle for a place in the quarter finals.
This is a great opportunity for both players, in what looks to be quite an open draw. Delbonis has slowly found a way to round himself into form in time for the European clay, after inconsistency and injury impacting his start to 2021. The match against Roberto Carbelles Baena was the perfect start to the week for him, coming up against a player who he has past success on as a means of finding confidence in his game. That is what happened, with Delbonis winning 7-5 6-1 in 101 minutes, after trailing 3-5 in the first set.
The lack of fitness and form of Juan Ignacio Londero in ther early part of 2021 has been evident, and it was on display against in round 1 against Gombos. After winning the first set, Londero fell away poorly, with Gombos winning 6-7 6-1 6-3. I don’t feel too much can be taken from that match when looking at Gombos and his larger sample size of clay form. Outside of a couple of wins in a unique 2020 Roland Garros, He doesn’t have a lot of experience against top level claycourters, going 2-9 in his career versus players ranked in the Top 80 at the time of their matches.
Delbonis is one of those players I will buy into the short term confidence surge, especially against a powerful player with less craft and skill on clay in Gombos.
I will record this at the Pinnacle price, as I don’t think the local Australian book price will last, however I do like Delbonis here at the -4 game handicap, and I will be taking that for 2.5 units.
Suggested Bet
2.5 units Delbonis -4 games vs Gombos at $1.98 at Pinnacle (and currently $2.19 at Topsport!)
Please note: If you are unable to access -4 and only -4.5 is available, I would drop the staking to 1.5 units if below $2.20