Tennis Picks March 23rd (Miami)

It was an interesting day yesterday as the First Round of the Men's event was completed, with the picks going 2-2 for a small profit.

I have to say I am still surprised that this tournament does not begin its TV coverage until the last matches of the Second Round are to be completed and, in the Women's case, not until the Third Round. The fact that we get coverage of entire ATP 250 events means it is a little weird not to have coverage of one of the big events outside of Grand Slam level.

Miami has always been described as the 'unofficial fifth major' so can you imagine if the Australian Open or Wimbledon decided there would be no TV coverage until the end of the Second Round matches? I have no idea what the thinking behind this is, but hopefully that is something that will be addressed sooner rather than later.

It was also a shame that Fernando Gonzalez' last match on the Tour was not televised, although you can catch the tribute the ATP put together for him. The Chilean was one of my favourite players to watch, especially when the forehand was firing, and I think he is a real character that will be missed. Hopefully he enjoys all he is going to do in the future.

It's a tough day to pick games I think with a lot of matches leaving me very much mixed in my emotions as to who will win, while others look short in the prices without me having enough faith in their opponents to take advantage. Therefore, I will only make the one pick today:


Janko Tipsarevic v David Nalbandian: I am only taking this as I think the Serbian represents some value, especially considering he was the favourite to win when these two players met at Indian Wells around ten days ago.

It is great to see David Nalbandian playing the tennis he is at the moment and I think he could have resurgent year if he can stay healthy. Nalbandian has no points to protect over the next couple of months until we get to Queens in June and there is a real chance he will get back into the top 32 in the Rankings if he can continue playing as well as he was at Indian Wells.

However, he beat Tipsarevic there in three sets, a match that could have easily gone the other way, and I just don't think Nalbandian should be favoured against a top 10 player just yet.

Tipsarevic is a solid player so if Nalbandian's form has dropped a little, I think the Serb can make his Ranking tell and earn his first professional win over the Argentine.


MY PICK: Janko Tipsarevic @ 2.00 Paddy Power (1 Unit)


Weekly Update: 2-2, + 0.17 Units (4 Units Staked)