2017 Davis Cup: Australia vs Czech Republic Betting Tips
If Australian Open gave you goose bumps, be prepared for more of the same when Australia take on Czech Republic in the Davis Cup World Group first round tie. The tie will be played from February 3 – 5 at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne. The loser would be forced into a playoff to preserve their World Group status for 2018 which means an exciting tie in waiting.
Hewitt, the captain!
Lleyton Hewitt needs no introduction in Australian Tennis with the feisty player holder of several Davis Cup records – most wins, most singles wins, most ties played and most years played. And he now has his eyes set on utilising this tie to springboard his success as captain.
On the team front, there’s mixed news for Hewitt with top gun Nick Kyrgios available for selection but Bernard Tomic controversially unavailable. Youngster Jordan Thompson gets a chance to showcase his prowess while Australian Open Doubles Champion John Peers will be pairing with Sam Groth on the second day of the tie.
Can Radek Stepanek summon his vast experience?
The Czechs too have some tough questions to answer. World number 54 Jiri Vesely will spearhead their challenge. And in the absence of Tomas Berdych, the pressure of keeping their flag flying falls on the youngster. But keep an eye on the 38-year-old veteran Radek Stepanek – who may feature in both singles and doubles.
Beyond these two, the Czechs do not boast of any depth with Jan Satral and Zdenek Kolar making it difficult for the captain Jaroslav Navratil to fall back on. It may well boil down to how well Stepanek and Vesely perform on day one.
History
Australia is the second most successful nation in Davis Cup with 28 titles but the last title was way back in 2003. The recent past hasn’t been rosy for them with even a six-year absence out of the World Group – which was broken only in 2014.
The Czechs have won the title thrice including back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 but that success was spearheaded by Berdych and Stepanek.
Australia holds a 7-1 advantage in head-to-head meetings and the recent meeting in Czech Republic two years ago too ended in their favour.
Odds
Recent history and the absence of Berdych makes Australia slight favourites going into the tie. The hosts should comfortably wrap it in four matches – unless there are major slip-ups.
TIP: Australia to win
Note: due to the high number of omissions to all squads, no markets for Round 1 are available as of writing. Markets will be added as soon as they open.
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