It was an interesting Day 1 from the World Tour Finals, although I will be the first to admit that I haven't seen both matches in full just yet but had been following the scores.
The problem is that I am working during the early afternoon game (although hoping to catch one of the day session matches later in the week) and today was just unfortunate that I finished a little late tonight so only saw the latter stages of the later match.
The one thing I did notice in my short time of watching the tennis was that the court is playing plenty slow at the moment and I think that may favour the two players from Group A, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, over Roger Federer.
I guess we'll know more as the tournament progresses, but Murray and Djokovic both winning is huge for them and puts both in a huge position to qualify. Djokovic winning in straight sets means there is a little less pressure on him when he faces Murray on Wednesday, although neither player will be too concerned about their prospects of getting through to the Semi Final after the opening day performances.
The picks actually went 1-1 yesterday, although it was a little unlucky that Andy Murray couldn't cover considering he had Tomas Berdych in a heap of trouble in the first set, but couldn't get the breakthrough and eventually lost that set 6-3... He also had a slight chance to get the double-break in one of the last two sets but made a couple of mental errors, although showed his character to win the match.
The second pick went almost exactly to plan as Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played a tight first set which was decided on the tie-breaker before the Serb took control and earned a double break of serve in the second set. Fortunately that didn't happen until the total games was in the bag.
Day 2 Picks
Roger Federer - 4.5 games v Janko Tipsarevic: While Roger Federer didn't play in Paris, Janko Tipsarevic did and it has to be a worry for his fans that he has been speaking about the possibility of withdrawing from this tournament.
The Serb Number 2 has admitted that he will give this a good go, but any player that is already thinking he won't complete a tournament cannot be a good sign, especially as he faces a player that he has been beaten by on all 5 occasions they have met on the Tour.
Federer has actually won 9 sets in a row against Tipsarevic since being 2-1 down in sets at the Australian Open in 2008 and he should be too strong for him again in this one. The last 7 sets has only seen 2 get to 6-4 and I think the mental checking out process for Tipsy could begin in this one so I like Federer to get off to a 6-3, 6-3 start.
David Ferrer v Juan Martin Del Potro: This is a match between two players that have been in very good form at the end of the season- David Ferrer won in Valencia and Paris back to back, while Juan Martin Del Potro won tournaments in Vienna and Basel before being beaten early in Paris last week.
Ferrer does pose a nightmare problem for Del Potro as he has the ability to retrieve balls all day and the court is playing slow enough to think the Argentine may be frustrated yet again by the Spaniard in this one.
I said in my outright preview that I think Ferrer can get out of this Group, but that means he has to win this game and extend his 5-2 head to head record against Del Potro. Ferrer has won both meetings against Del Potro this season, winning all 5 sets they have competed against one another and none of those have got closer than 6-3.
Tiredness may eventually take its toll on Ferrer, but he has had a couple of days rest and never seems to be too bothered on a tennis court and I think he can take the surprise win in this one.
MY PICKS: Roger Federer - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 Pinnacle (2 Units)
David Ferrer @ 2.38 Coral (2 Units)
ATP World Tour Finals Update: 1-1, - 0.16 Units (4 Units Staked)
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