Tennis Picks February 21st

I decided to give Monday a day off after a disappointing week last week when I finished with a small deficit, plus I wasn't really that interested in the small number of matches on offering as the tournaments get underway across the globe.

As I had to last week, I may have to make some picks a bit later as the schedules for the tournaments in North and South America are released a little later and that means the layers will not get their markets up until later.

I will post a link to this thread on Twitter whenever new picks are made as I look for a positive start to the new week.

Ana Ivanovic - 4 games v Francesca Schiavone: I haven't backed Ana Ivanovic much at all since the end of 2008 as her career has really fallen off from the heights of winning the French Open that season and she has never really recovered from the pressure of becoming World Number 1.

However, this does present a good match up for her as she has the power to overcome Francesca Schiavone, especially at this stage of the Italian's career.

Schiavone has not had the best start to 2012, although I still think she will present a tough opponent on the slower clay courts later on in the season. Her 0-3 record against Ivanovic also works against her here and I just think the Serbian can win this one in straight sets, likely 6-4, 6-3 to move through to the Second Round.

Igor Andreev - 3.5 games v Blaz Kavcic: Last week I said I was much more impressed with the way Igor Andreev was going about his business considering the fall in his career over the last couple of seasons, and there were some clear signs that he could be making his way back up the Rankings sooner rather than later.

Andreev has already become accustomed to the conditions here, winning 3 Rounds to Qualify for the event, all wins coming in straight sets.

The Russian is 8-2 in his last 10 matches, all on clay courts, and he should be too strong for Blaz Kavcic who has been a First Round loser in 3 of the 4 tournaments he has competed in so far.

Kavcic was beaten by Jeremy Chardy last week in Sao Paulo- that loss came in straight sets and he has to be a little low in confidence at the moment.

Andreev beat him in straight sets a couple of seasons ago on the clay courts of Belgrade and I will look for him to do so again here.

Nicolas Almagro - 4.5 games v Potito Starace: Nicolas Almagro will play this match just a couple of days after winning the event in Sao Paulo and he should have plenty of confidence that he can extend his winning run against an opponent he has beaten 5 times in a row.

Starace is most comfortable on a clay court, but his last 3 defeats to Almagro have come on the surface and he has not made a great start to 2012. The Italian's serve can be a little inconsistent and he can also fall apart in matches when he feels it is getting away from him.

There is the concern that Almagro has never beaten Starace in straight sets, but he would still have covered this spread in 2 of their last 3 matches on a clay court and I will back him to do so again here.

Richard Gasquet - 5.5 games v Go Soeda: Richard Gasquet should get plenty of support from the home crowd here in Marseille and I think he will continue to show the decent form he has been in the early part of the season.

Gasquet continues to show his class against some of the lesser opponents he faces, while not quite good enough when he gets up against some of the more consistent players on the Tour.

Go Soeda falls into the former and I think Gasquet should be good enough to win this one in straight sets.

Soeda generally plays on the Challenger circuit and Gasquet is going to be a huge step up for him, one I think will be a little too high for him to overcome. I feel Gasquet will likely get a couple of breaks in one set and that should be enough to cover the spread.


MY PICKS: Ana Ivanovic - 4 games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Igor Andreev - 3.5 games @ 1.85 188Bet (2 Units)
Nicolas Almagro - 4.5 games @ 1.92 Bet365 (2 Units)
Richard Gasquet - 5.5 games @ 1.90 Pinnacle (2 Units)