US Open Day 2 Picks (August 28th)

I only had the one pick yesterday and was disappointed that Bobby Reynolds couldn't quite get himself into a perfect position as he gave up a set and a break advantage to fall down 2-1 in sets and eventually was beaten in 5 sets.

Some of the top players made harder work than they needed to in the First Round, but that is to be expected considering it is their first match and the conditions have been rough to say the least.

Roger Federer and Petra Kvitova both moved on to the Second Round to keep all the outright picks alive and today we will see the others join the fray.

Today it should be a clearer day with little chance of a break in play like there was yesterday and the temperature is going to keep going up during the next few days. The wind was playing havoc yesterday with some of the players, but even that should start dying down over the next couple of days and it looks a good day to get on the court.


Teimuraz Gabashvili - 1.5 sets v Rogerio Dutra Da Silva: I really don't like backing bad players, but I am going to take Teimuraz Gabasvili to win this match against an opponent who has not played any hard court tournaments ahead of the US Open, although he did reach the Second Round in Flushing Meadows last season after qualifying for the tournament.

Gabashvili did qualify for the event and he has been attempting to make hay in hard court tournaments over the last month, although he hasn't enjoyed a lot of success.

However, he should have gained some confidence from the three wins he had to get through to the US Open main draw and Rogerio Dutra Da Silva was busy playing in Challenger tournaments on clay courts in Europe, which suggests he could be found wanting here.

I won't go over the minimum unit for this one as I don't have complete faith in Gabashvili either.


Roberta Vinci - 3.5 games v Urszula Radwanksa: Roberta Vinci has been having her best season on the hard courts this year and should be full of confidence having won the tournament in Dallas last week, while she has also reached the Quarter Final in Montreal earlier in the month.

Vinci was going along in earlier hard court events at Miami and Indian Wells, but ended up running into the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova while she was also reached the Third Round at the US Open in 2011.

Urszula Radwanska may be overshadowed by her big sister Agnieszka, but she has doubled her wins from last season already and in fact has more wins in 2012 than she has had in the previous two seasons. She was also playing well on the hard courts during this Summer swing, reaching Quarter Finals at Stanford and Carlsbad, but she can still fall short against some of the better and more consistent players on the Tour.

Vinci also leads the head to head 2-0, although their last match was back in 2008 when the Italian beat Radwanska in straight sets here in New York.

There are some question marks about Radwanska's health and all this points to Vinci winning 6-3, 6-4.


Jelena Jankovic - 4.5 games v Kateryna Bondarenko: Jelena Jankovic is not the force of three or four years ago, but reaching the Final in Dallas last week should have given her some confidence after a poor run of form had seen her lose 4 matches in a row.

Despite her up and down performances, Jankovic has already won 17 matches on the hard courts this season and this is by far and away her favourite surface. However, she had been just 1-6 on the North American hard courts before her performance in Dallas last week and that will be a boost for her mentally and the Serb did reach the Third Round at the US Open last season.

Her opponent Kateryna Bondarenko is a tough player on her day, but Jankovic has won their previous meeting (which didn't end in a retirement) fairly comfortably and the Ukrainian hasn't played too much hard court tennis since March.

The spread will be touch and go, but I think Jankovic can be a little too tough for her today and may just need a break more in each set to ensure she does get the cover.

I'll be looking for a 6-3, 6-4 win for the former World Number 1.


Yaroslava Shvedova - 1.5 games v Vania King: This is one of those rare occasions when doubles partners have to play one another in the singles draw, but that is the case for Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King in the First Round.

They haven't met in singles before but both players will know all about the other and that makes it a tougher match to call.

However, I think Yaroslava Shvedova has been the more consistent singles player and she has had a couple of really good months on the WTA Tour and that makes her the favourite in this match.

Shvedova will have to cope with the heat having pulled out in Cincinnati from dizziness caused by the weather, but that was two weeks ago and she should be ready.

Vania King did reach the Semi Final at Washington recently and she will have the crowd behind her in this one. She also reached the Third Round here last season so shouldn't be under-estimated, but her recent form has been mixed and her doubles partner did reach the Quarter Final and the Fourth Round at the last two Grand Slams and will likely be too strong again.

The players know each other well so there could be a deciding set to settle the winner, but I think Yaroslava Shvedova holds the edge and should come through.


MY PICKS: Teimuraz Gabashvili - 1.5 sets @ 1.83 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Roberta Vinci - 3.5 games @ 1.80 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Jelena Jankovic - 4.5 games @ 1.92 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Yaroslava Shvedova - 1.5 games @ 1.92 Stan James (2 Units)

US Open Update: 0-1, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked)