Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Rome - Internazionali BNL D'Italia - 1st Round - Outdoor Clay

An ATP Masters Series event

Robredo leads series 2-1:

2006, Madrid, Hard, Robredo 7-6(2) 7-6(3)
2004, Toronto, Hard, Chela 6-4 6-0
2003, Rome, Clay, Robredo 6-2 6-0

Both players entered the clay court season after disappointing results in the first 3 months. Robredo shows signs of finding his form, he compiled a 7/3 record in past three weeks and lost only to quality opposition, Ferrer twice and Nalbandian. Chela on the other hand lost 1st round in Monte Carlo to an in-form Bolelli and then reached the quarters in Barcelona where he stretched Nadal in the first set

Similar styles to clash here, two good claycourters with Robredo having the edge as far as serve and defense are concerned, no doubt he is the better player between them but also no doubt he is not at his best nowadays. The least we should expect is Chela's price to trade a lot lower in-play which is enough to get our job done, in any case the value is on the Argentine, medium stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Rome - Internazionali BNL D'Italia - 1st Round - Outdoor Clay

An ATP Masters Series event

First meeting between them and unless Cilic is going to play with... the left hand, this is the bet of the day

Of course Starace is playing on his favourite surface and at home but he doesn't seem in any devastating form. He is 3/3 on clay so far in 3 events but this time around last year he was entering this event after reaching Valencia finals and QF in Barcelona. Cilic on the other hand is also bringing here an even record on the dirt (2/2) and seems not as hot as in the start of the season in Australian Open. His game is more suited for faster surfaces, no doubt, but he has no problem with clay

Starace's experience, the surface and the noisy crowd behind him should all be considered but still the prices on Cilic who can be dominant on serve and exchange from the baseline are too good to miss. The Croat to go through, high stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Monaco - Masters Series Monte Carlo - 1st Round - Outdoor Clay

Their first meeting

Both started the clay season previous week in Valencia; Monfils beat Maximo Gonzalez and lost to Starace, Verdasco beat Lapentti and Zverev and lost to eventual champion Ferrer

The Frenchman starts here with only 6 matches under his belt in 2008 since a leg injury kept him off court for the first 10 weeks. He's won 2 and lost 4, at least all his defeats were against decent opposition (Berdych, Ancic, Federer and Starace)

Verdasco on the other hand not impressive so far, he enters this event with an even record (8/8) and he got past the 2nd round for the first time in 2008 previous week in Valencia, his 8th tournament

They are both playing in Monte Carlo for the fourth time and tomorrow one of them will shake hands as a winner for the very first time at this place since they were both beaten 1st round in their previous three visits

There are a couple of areas where Monfils has an edge in theory. First of all he is a fantastic defender and covers the court extremely well, exactly the type of player Verdasco doesn't exactly enjoy himself with. He also possesses the better serve between them which is not of course a major weapon on the dirt but still he is the one who could be less vulnerable on his own serve. Their forehands are both lethal but very much often error prone

I understand that Monfils for now has to be an underdog against every single decent player but since Nando doesn't seem to be in form, i think that this is too much. The Frenchman to go through, high stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Indian Wells - Pacific Life Open - Quarter Final - Outdoor Hard

Djokovic posted an impressive 64 60 win last time they met late in 2007 (Vienna) and holds an overall 4-2 career record against the Swiss. The Serbian is yet to drop a set here, he surrendered just 5 games to Canas and Kohlschreiber and seemed to struggle only in second set against Seppi in his first match

Wawrinka on the contrary posted all his four wins here in 3 sets, he did face some quality opposition (Berdych, Baghdatis) and an in-form Lee en route to the quarters though. Still, one should take into account the nearly 600 minutes he has spent on court so far in comparison with Nole's 250' only, especially an one hour difference in yesterday's matches

Even with the fatigue factor considered, the odds here don't get less unreal. Wawrinka is a pretty good server with quality shots from both wings, a player who likes to work out the points and use the entire court, able to handle the baseline exchanges with Djokovic... a good start from his side could make this one really close at least, low stakes recommended

Discuss in forum (2 entries)

Indian Wells - Pacific Life Open - 2nd Round - Outdoor Hard

Monaco leads 1-0:

2007, Miami, Hard, Monaco 6-4 6-4

Despite the H2H, i have to give Haase the edge in this one. He has already three matches under his belt in the desert since he played qualies to earn a place into the main draw so he should be better adjusted to the special conditions here, Monaco on the other hand starts today as one of the 32 seeds. The Argentine is struggling after his injury in Vina del Mar winning only 1-of-3 matches on his favourite surface, clay, since then. Haase's game is more effective on hard courts and with Monaco's current status i'm choosing the Dutch to go through, solid stakes recommended

Discuss in forum (3 entries)

Indian Wells - Pacific Life Open - 1st Round - Outdoor Hard

First ATP Masters Series event of the season

Melzer leads series 2-1:

2006, Metz, Hard, Melzer 4-6 6-2 7-6(5)
2004, Paris, Carpet, Safin 6-2 7-5
2004, Hamburg, Clay, Melzer 6-4 6-4

Both failed to impress during the last month in US. Safin experienced first round defeats to Johansson (Memphis) and Hewitt (Vegas), Melzer tasted one win and defeats against the likes of Garcia-Lopez (San Jose), Darcis (Memphis) and Delic (Las Vegas)

Few months ago i've promised myself i will never be surprised to see Safin at any price against anyone. I forgot to promise i will never bother with him again but who knows... may be i'll do it in a few hours time ;-)

It's just that i really liked the fight he put up against Baghdatis in Melbourne back in January, coming back from two sets down to level the match and push it into the decider when every single tennis fan was expecting a third set bagel, so positive and so much towards the right direction, so promising we could have the chance to see the real Safin perform on court again

It's not Memphis nor San Jose here, in a big event we can hope for a more concerned Safin, he is taking the court tonight immediately after his little sister and hopefully Dinara will show him the way... Marat is heads and shoulders above Melzer, an out of form Melzer, the basics is what he has to do to put this one in the bag, high stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Dubai - Barclays Dubai Championships - 1st Round - Outdoor Hard

Ferrer leads 1-0:

2005, Paris, Carpet, Ferrer 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3

Fourth event here for both men. The Spaniard reached the quarters in Auckland (l. to Benneteau) and Melbourne (l. to Djokovic) and lost 2nd round to Zverev two weeks ago in Rotterdam. Haas is playing for 4th week in a row and doesn't look good after his shoulder surgery with defeats against the likes of Becker, Isner and Hartfield so far

I don't think Ferrer deserves such an edge, the guy is still treated by the bookies like we 're back at 2007 late stages without having the same form. Tommy has the weaponry to test his defensive skills, should he get a particular part of this weaponry working, his serve, Ferrer would come close to make it 3-of-3 1st round defeats in Dubai, medium stakes

Discuss in forum (2 entries)

San Jose - SAP Open - Final - Indoor Hard

Roddick leads series 3-0:

2007, Washington, Hard, Roddick 6-3 1-6 7-5
2007, Queen's, Grass, Roddick 6-4 6-4
2005, Queen's, Grass, Roddick 6-3 2-6 6-2

Let's start with a confession, i also went against Roddick in the quarters with low stakes and without posting in here thankfully for the followers... errr, if any out there ;-) Not exactly the opponent i'd like Fish on Friday, i feel more comfortable with Stepanek tonight

There is absolutely no reason to consider Roddick such a heavy favorite even though he's never lost from Stepanek before, even though he has an impressive record here with back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005

Break of serve will be a major task since indoor conditions would favor Roddick's big serve and Stepanek's serve and volley, the Czech has was it takes to stay close with Roddick at least, to keep this on serve, put the home favorite under pressure and Andy doesn't perform his best tennis on such occasions

An extremely tight affair in my eyes so it has to be Stepanek with high stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

San Jose - SAP Open - 2nd Round - Indoor Hard

Isner leads 1-0:

2007, Washington, Hard, Isner 6-4 6-7(6) 7-6(5)

Haas made his first appearance in 2008 previous week in Delray Beach (l. to Hartfield) after a shoulder surgery in the off season and marked his first win against Kendrick in three sets yesterday

Isner beat Serra on Monday in straight sets and plays his third tournament in 2008. A guy who came out of nowhere last summer in America's hard court swing reaching Washington finals and US Open 3rd round

Haas' come back status more than obvious behind those odds i guess, not to say over-included. Tommy has too much quality for a 205cm big serving giant with nothing else and 1,75 here is value even if this will be decided in two or three tie breaks, even if Tommy has had that surgery... yesterday, maximum stakes

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Doha - Qatar Total Open - 1st Round - Outdoor Hard

Paszek leads 1-0

2007, US Open, Hard, PASZEK 4-6 6-4 7-6(1)

Paszek has been inactive since her 1st round drama defeat in Melbourne against Jankovic and this will be her first match in 5 weeks while Schnyder played 4 Fed Cup matches plus Antwerp last week (2nd round l. to Knapp) after the Australian Open

The teenager from Austria is one to watch in ladies tour and this is mentioned below but i think its too early to be offered at evens against top opposition, at least not before she finds some kind of form and rhythm

Schnyder won't be an easy opponent for her. As a leftie, she will target her weak side easier, her ability to use the entire court could take Paszek out of her comfort zone while she has the experience to turn this one into a mind game rather than a hard hitting one from the baseline

High stakes here on Patty with a price which - despite the H2H - shouldn't have been bigger that 1,70

Discuss in forum (1 entries)

Melbourne - Australian Open - 3rd Round - Outdoor Hard

Gasquet prevailed in their last meeting previous week, still it's Andreev who leads 3-2:

2008, Sydney, Hard, Gasquet 6-3 7-6(6)
2007, Gstaad, Clay, Andreev 7-5 6-2
2006, Sydney, Hard, Andreev 6-2 6-4
2005, Moscow, Clay, Gasquet 6-4 6-3 7-6(1)
2004, Queen's, Grass, Andreev 7-6(4) 7-6(4)

Andreev started the season with 1st round defeats at the hands of Johansson (Doha) and his rival tomorrow (Sydney). He beat Pavel in 4 and Vliegen in straight sets so far. Gasquet's only tournament prior to the Aussie Open was in Sydney where he lost to eventual champion Tursunov 2nd round. He beat local wildcard Lindahl and then lost just 6 games in a straight sets victory against Feliciano Lopez here

Now, is this Gasquet's convincing last win a good reason for 1,30 ? Or may be the fact he beat Andreev 10 days ago in a "who really cares" lead-in tournament ? I say no

The Russian is more dangerous on clay but he has no problem on hard courts. This particular one is pretty fair with extreme grips and topspin so his forehand will be heavy enough. A good athlete able to rally all day long and this will be pretty much the case here since the Frenchman spends most of his time on court far behind his baseline

No doubt Gasquet has the richer arsenal of shots to choose from, he is yet to unfold his talent and prove his mentality though on big occasions like Slams... unless they are both considered as done with the SF at last Wimbledon

High stakes on Andreev's insane prices in what i expect to be a tight affair and trade a lot lower in play at least