Tennis Picks (December 31st)

It feels like yesterday we saw the end of the tennis season with both Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych helping the Czech Republic lift the Davis Cup a little under a week after Novak Djokovic had won the End of Year Championships at the O2 Arena.

It seems like the layers have been taking a casual approach to the first tournaments of the 2013 season, with some of the tournaments not having their outright winner prices up. That could be down to late withdrawals, while Andy Murray is the big favourite to retain his title in Brisbane.

All of that meant I am not going to make any outright selections to open this new season, but I will be making my picks from the action as always. At some point before the Australian Open, I will post a thread with things I am looking forward to in the 2013 season and also just updating how the 2012 season went, another profitable season from the tennis picks I made.

Let's hope for another wonderful season of action...


Jarkko Nieminen - 1.5 games v Julien Benneteau: Both of these players are likely to slip in the Rankings this season as their better days are behind them, but I like Jarkko Nieminen's chances as he has beaten Julien Benneteau in all 5 professional meetings.

Nieminen and Benneteau are similar players, but I do believe the Finnish player has had the better of the meetings because his form doesn't fluctuate as much as Benneteau's can.

Nieminen beat Benneteau in the Final in Sydney last season, winning that match 6-2, 7-5 and I think he has the mental edge to beat the Frenchman again.


Simone Bolelli v Daniel Gimeno-Traver & Victor Troicki v Bjorn Phau Double: The layers have not put up any of the handicap markets for the matches in Doha, so I'll stick these two players in a double.

Both should be too strong for their respective opponents, although I don't trust either player enough to make this more than a unit play. Simone Bolelli and Victor Troicki are the better hard court players than their opponents, although both are capable of playing stinkers. However, their opponents are also guilty of too many unforced errors and beating themselves so I'll chance this double.


MY PICKS: Jarkko Nieminen - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Simone Bolelli & Victor Troicki Double @ 2.36 Bet Fred (1 Unit)