Round 1 of the ATP tournament brought together Matteo Arnaldi and James Duckworth on Tue, 1 Sept, 3:10 am AEST. Pre-match markets had Matteo Arnaldi installed as the favourite at 1.58 in the Head to Head market, while James Duckworth sat as the outsider at 2.4.
When the dust settled, it was James Duckworth who claimed victory in a hard-fought encounter, closing out the match 7 3 2 6–5 6 6 7. Matteo Arnaldi entered this fixture following a loss on Sat, 8 Aug against Tallon Griekspoor, while James Duckworth was also coming off a loss on Sat, 29 Aug against Arthur Fery. Despite the pre-match rankings pointing towards the Italian, Duckworth turned the tables on the court.
Market Movements and Totals Context
The games total was set at 39.5 games for this clash. In the lead-up to the first serve, the over drifted from 1.9 to 1.95, while the under firmed from 1.9 to 1.85 as punters adjusted their positions on the total games line.
On the set handicap, Matteo Arnaldi was trading at -1.5 sets priced at 2.15, with James Duckworth at 1.7. Duckworth's eventual victory rendered the set handicap irrelevant as the underdog secured the win outright.
How the tips went
Looking back at our published selections for this fixture, the Head to Head tip on James Duckworth at 2.4 saluted successfully. Duckworth's upset victory over Matteo Arnaldi delivered for backers who took the longer price on the Australian outsider.