Tennis Picks August 4th (London Olympics Day 8 Picks and Washington)

There are just a couple of days left at the London Olympics for these tennis stars and on Saturday we get the Women's Medals settled with two matches.

None of the players will have much time to enjoy their achievements this week as they head to Montreal for a tournament beginning on Monday in preparation for the US Open which will be beginning at the end of the month.


Victoria Azarenka - 4.5 games v Maria Kirilenko: There wasn't a lot Victoria Azarenka could do against the form Serena Williams displayed in the Semi Final on Friday, but I expect her to end her tournament with a Bronze Medal consolation (she is also going well in the Mixed Doubles where a Gold Medal is a distinct possibility).

Maria Kirilenko is not an easy test on the grass courts, but she too was dismantled in her Semi Final and I think she may find it tough against someone like Azarenka who is normally very consistent.

I think Azarenka has the edge in the rallies and she has the consistency to break down the Kirilenko game. It is no surprise that Azarenka has won the last two matches between the two, even if they were back in 2010, and I think the Belarusian has improved as a player since then and is going to record another win in this one.

This could be tight when it comes to covering this spread, but I wouldn't be surprised if Azarenka is a 6-4, 6-2 winner and takes the Bronze Medal.


Maria Sharapova + 4.5 games v Serena Williams: I already backed Serena Williams to win this tournament in the outright market and I think the American has shown too much over the course of the week to miss out on the Gold Medal now.

In saying that, I still think this spread looks slightly high in a match where we could potentially see a deciding set as well as the chance of a tie-break. Maria Sharapova has also been playing well this week and won't want to roll over as Williams' other opponents have and she can serve well enough to at least keep the score respectable.

However, Serena has a dominating record against Sharapova, winning 8 of their 10 matches including a thumping win in Madrid earlier this season which is the last of a run of 7 consecutive wins against the Russian.

In fact, Williams would have covered this spread in 5 of their last 6 matches, the exception coming on the grass courts here at Wimbledon in 2010 when she won 7-6, 6-4.

That means they are 1-1 on the grass courts in their career, with Williams failing to cover the spread in both of those and I wouldn't be surprised if Serena is a 6-3, 7-6 winner in the Final to take home the Gold Medal and make herself the big favourite to win the final Grand Slam of the season at Flushing Meadows.


MY PICKS: Victoria Azarenka - 4.5 games @ 1.86 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Maria Sharapova + 4.5 games @ 2.20 Paddy Power (2 Units)


Weekly Update: 9-8, + 2.60 Units (33 Units Staked)