It has been a slow start to the week, especially over in Austria, as the early rounds have proven to be tougher to predict in recent tournaments. Now we have reached Day 3, I am hoping that more value can be found from the bookmakers:
Pablo Andujar vs Albert Ramos: This is a battle between two Spanish players and I will be backing the higher ranked Pablo Andujar to come through, although it may be closer than expected.
Andujar has been plying his trade at the main tour level this season, a contrast to his opponent today, and he has won in Casablanca and also reached the Final in Stuttgart.
I do get a little put off when seeing a defeat to Mathias Bachinger from last week in Gstaad, but Albert Ramos has generally come up short when playing the better players on the tour.
Andujar is a clay court specialist and also holds a 2-1 head to head record against Ramos, winning their last match just under a year ago in Geneva.
Robin Haase vs Feliciano Lopez: Robin Haase's career has been hit by injuries and this season has been no different for the Dutchman, but I still think he has a genuine chance of upsetting the odds against Feliciano Lopez, a Spaniard whose worst surface is arguably the clay courts.
Robin Haase played some decent stuff against Marin Cilic last week in Umag, but he is still inconsistent and seems to go wondering off mentally in matches.
However, Haase has a big serve and decent groundies for the most part and I expect he can make life tough for Lopez.
Feliciano Lopez has been in good form since Wimbledon, helping Spain win their Davis Cup tie in America and also winning a Challenger on the clay in Colombia. Last week he reached the Quarter Final before being ousted by Nicolas Almagro, but his serve-volley style is not always suited to the clay courts.
The altitude should help both with their service games, but I am going for the underdog to pull the shock here.
MY PICKS: Pablo Andujar @ 1.75 Unibet (2 Units)
Robin Haase @ 2.63 BetFred (1 Unit)
WEEKLY UPDATE KITZBUHEL: + 0.66 Units
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