Betting Central

Line Calls, presented by FanDuel Sportsbook: Cameron Norrie vs. Sebastian Korda, Delray Beach

The Brit is the higher ranked player, but the American has won each of their two meetings in straight sets.

Published Feb 17, 2022

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For the second time this season, tennis fans will get a chance to watch Sebastian Korda take on Cameron Norrie. These two met in the first round of the Australian Open last month, when the American breezed by the Brit, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. Korda needed only an hour and 43 minutes to knock last year’s Indian Wells champion—and higher-ranked player—out of the hard-court major.

It's not the only time Korda has shown superiority over Norrie; they met in last year’s installment of this very event, when Korda won 6-3, 7-5.

It's hard to imagine Norrie playing worse than he did against Korda in Melbourne, and we have already seen the 26-year-old looking a bit sharper down in Florida. But we haven’t seen any signs of Korda’s level dropping off after his fantastic finish to the 2021 season. Korda is 4-1 in 2022, and he picked up an impressive straight-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of the Delray Beach Open. Kokkinakas is a player that has looked good to start the year, so that performance showed a lot about where Korda is with his game right now.

Korda lost in the final of last year's Delray Beach Open.

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Look for the American to impose his will on this match, as he is the better ball-striker between these two players. Korda has power from both sides and will do his best to prevent Norrie from getting comfortable on court. Korda also has impressive wheels for a player his size, which could ultimately end up frustrating Norrie.

The key for Korda, really, may simply be getting out of his own way. The American can rack up errors, whether it’s off the ground or on his serve. However, knowing that he has beaten Norrie twice in the last year should give the 21-year-old supreme confidence in his ability to get by the finish line. Meanwhile, the player on the other side of the net might be playing a bit better, but he still has to deal with the fact that he is off to a miserable start to the 2022 season after a career year. The world No. 13 came into Delray Beach with a dismal 2-5 mark. If Norrie starts to make some mistakes, he could battle some mental demons for the remainder of the match.

Overall, it’s hard to pass on Korda with the two players getting the same odds in this match.

Pick: Korda To Win (-108)

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