Tennis Picks July 12th

I have held off making any picks at the start of the week as I wasn't sure of some of the players motivation and the fact that a few of the bigger names that have appeared may just have been focusing on the Olympics.

There have been some really surprising results already, while the number of players that have lost from winning positions have been higher than usual. I know there are a lot of people out there that can be sceptical when things like that happen, but tennis is such a momentum sport that a player can lose a number of points in a row, particularly those who just aren't as good as the top players and therefore don't have the consistency to regain momentum that is lost.

The tournaments at Newport and Stanford release their order of plays much later than the European tournaments so I will have a look at those during the day and see if there are any picks I want to make from those events.

The outright picks I have made has seen one player progress through to the Quarter Finals in Marin Cilic, one player yet to start his tournament in Juan Monaco, and one exiting in the form of Sam Querrey.


Fabio Fognini v Alexandr Dolgopolov: I am taking the underdog Italian to win this match, despite not being his biggest fan as he can mentally check out of matches when they are not going his way. However, Fabio Fognini has shown more commitment to the cause this season, even if results remain hit and miss.

Alexandr Dolgopolov has not been in a good run of form recently and you have to expect confidence will at least be a little low after losing 5 of his last 6 matches going back to Madrid.

The Ukrainian is actually the defending Champion here, but it does look like he is an uneasy favourite considering where his confidence is likely to be and that is why I think Fognini as the underdog has to be the call here.

They are 1-1 in the head to head against one another, but it was Fognini that won their only meeting on a clay court and he looks a live dog in this one.


Alessandro Giannessi v Daniel Gimeno-Traver: I am taking another Italian who is the dog in this match as I back Alessandro Giannessi to surprise Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Sweden.

Gimeno-Traver was almost handed the match by Mikhail Kukushkin in the last Round and I think the Spaniard is very fortunate to still be in the tournament. That was only the second win on the main tour on the clay courts for Gimeno-Traver from 8 matches played this season.

Giannessi has been playing the majority of his matches on the Challenger tour, but he has already won four matches here as he qualified for the event so the conditions should hold no fear for him. The young Italian has also won both matches against Gimeno-Traver in the past and he looks worth chancing to add to that here.


Lleyton Hewitt to win 2-1 v Dudi Sela: It is clear that Lleyton Hewitt is not the same player that previously won Grand Slam titles, but the desire is still there for him to improve his Ranking and get back into a position where he can qualify for some of the biggest events on the calender without needing a Wild Card as he has here.

Hewitt has remained on the grass in preparation for Wimbledon and his two wins in Newport are the first he has had on the Main Tour since the Australian Open back in January (granted that is mainly down to injuries, but he had lost all three matches he has played since returning at the French Open).

The match up against Dudi Sela does present Hewitt a real chance to get through to the Semi Final here as he has won all three matches against the Israeli. Sela is a similar kind of player that will look to grind out a win, just as Hewitt does, and he is playing well enough here to think he can at least win a set.

That is something Sela has done the last two times he has played Hewitt and I would not be surprised if this is another one that will go the distance. I just think the Australian will do enough to gut out a win and so taking this for a small interest looks the call.


Marina Erakovic v Urszula Radwanska: I am not entirely sure why Marina Erakovic is the underdog in this match, even if Urszula Radwanska has been playing some better tennis recently.

Erakovic actually beat Radwanska a couple of weeks ago in the First Round at Wimbledon in straight sets and she has had success here at Stanford in the past after reaching the Quarter Final last season, including beating Victoria Azarenka as a big underdog.

Radwanska has struggled to get into the limelight that is occupied by her big sister Agnieszka and she hasn't had a winning record on the Main Tour over the last five seasons. The Pole has struggled on the hard courts this season, although she did come through a tough examination in the First Round.

I just feel Erakovic does have the capabilities to be more consistent and hit through Radwanska in this match up and I am, as I said, a little surprised that the New Zealand player is the underdog. I'll have a small play on her getting through to another Quarter Final here.


MY PICKS: Fabio Fognini @ 2.05 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Alessandro Giannessi @ 2.25 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Lleyton Hewitt win 2-1 @ 4.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Marina Erakovic @ 2.10 Bet Fred (1 Unit)