Who'll have the upper hand when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal clash on Saturday night at the ATP Cup Finals? Photo by Marianne Bevis (Flickr).
The 2020 ATP Cup Finals have reached the climax as on Saturday, well see Serbia take on Spain for the title. These are the top two entries in this tournament and both have made it all the way through to the finals. With big names like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set to go head-to-head, whats the best bet here?
Odds taken Jan. 11
In case youre new to the ATP Cup, how these events work is its a best-of-three. The two countries will play their two head-to-head singles matches. If we have a winner (if a country wins both), then they win the match. If not, then theyll play the doubles match as the tiebreaker.
Lajovic is clearly the weaker of the two players for Serbia as Djokovic is arguably among the top two players in the world while Lajovic is currently ranked No. 34. As for Roberto Bautista Agut, hes also the weaker of the two players but hes No. 10 in the world, so ranked much higher.
Lajovic was fairly shaky early on in this event as he needed three sets in his matches against France and South Africa. Hes won his last three matches against Chile, Canada and Russia in straight sets though.
As for Bautista Agut, hes been downright dominant at this event. Not only has he yet to drop a set, hes lost a total of 19 games across five games. Thats incredible. Hes faced Lajovic five times in his career and hes won all five matches. Lajovic has won just two sets off of him. I expect Bautista Agut to win here.
Odds taken Jan. 11
The Djokovic-Nadal matchup is one that a lot of people have been waiting for at this event. Theyre currently the top two players in the world and for the most part are expected to win the four grand slams in 2020.
Djokovic hasnt been all that crisp here but hes still showed better than Nadal. Djokovic needed two tiebreakers to beat out Kevin Anderson and South Africa, then also lost a set to Canadas Dennis Shapovalov and Russias Daniil Medvedev. The three-setter with Medvedev is understandable but being challenged by the others isnt a great look.
As for Nadal, his first four matches were all breezes as he won in straight sets but then he shockingly lost to David Goffin of Belgium and then needed three sets against Australias Alex De Minaur. De Minaur is ranked No. 18 in the world but that combined with the loss to Goffin indicates Nadal might not be in his best form.
I wouldnt be surprised if Serbia needed this one more than Spain, which might propel Djokovic to be a little more motivated in this one to get the win and force the tiebreak. Bet Djokovic here.
Odds taken Jan. 11
Whats interesting to note is Spain has a bit of a ringer of sorts for doubles here. If the match will go to the doubles tiebreaker, theyll bring in Carreo Busta, who has a decent track record in doubles. He once made it to the doubles finals at the U.S. Open, semis at the Australian Open and has three career doubles titles.
While hes not a dominant doubles player, hes at least had some success in this regard. As for Troicki, he has a 106-151 doubles record and other than the French Open, hasnt been past the third round in a doubles grand slam match.
The other note here is that Djokovic is not really a doubles guy. Hes played just one doubles match in this tournament as Serbia has been opting to use its other two players for the tiebreaker. As for Nadal, hes 136-74 in doubles the best mark of the four players participating. He also has 11 doubles titles overall.
That being the case, I like Bautista Agut to win his match, Djokovic to beat Nadal and Spain to beat Serbia in the doubles showdown.
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For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.
Entertainment NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Tennis MMA
For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.
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2020 ATP Cup Finals: Serbia vs Spain Odds and Picks - Sports Betting Dime
