There really wasn't a lot of drama on the first day of the Australian Open as pretty much all the seeded players of note moved through to the Second Round. The Woman's draw some particularly dominating wins for the top players with Maria Sharapova handing out a double bagel of particularly note.
With most of the top players progressing, it is no surprise that Novak Djokovic, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber all moved through to the Second Round, while Kei Nishikori was a comfortable enough winner in his own match keeping all the outright picks intact.
Less impressive were the picks from the opening day as 3 of 4 failed to come off- John Millman's result was perhaps the most disappointing as he came back from 2 sets down and had all the momentum on his side before falling in the final set.
Grigor Dimitrov's early break was about as good as it got for the youngster in his match and Janko Tipsarevic showed why he is a top ten player by taking apart Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. The only consolation was Marion Bartoli securing an easy win in her First Round match.
The first few days of this tournament are going to be a little tough to read simply because some players are coming off long lay offs and the sole aim to make sure they get through to the next Round- that will see some of the top players doing just enough to go through without exerting too much energy, while the layers aren't taking too many chances by offering large handicaps or really short outright win markets.
Marin Cilic - 6.5 games v Marinko Matosevic: My first pick on day 2 at the Open is taking Marin Cilic to knock off one of the Australian hopes in the First Round.
Marino Matosevic is in the top 50 of the World Rankings, but I think Cilic will be a lot more focused with him after being pushed to 5 sets by the same player at the US Open when the Croatian had to come back from 2 sets down to win that match.
Neither player has been in great form to open the 2013 season, but I do think there is more in Cilic's game than there is in Matosevic's and I do believe the latter will be slipping down the Rankings again this season after mixing with better opponents at bigger tournaments.
I can imagine a couple of the sets are tight affairs, but eventually Cilic should be too good and come through with the cover.
Juan Martin Del Potro - 7.5 games v Adrian Mannarino: This could be another Grand Slam where Juan Martin Del Potro has a big impact, although he won't be that happy in being in the same section as Andy Murray.
However, I expect the big Argentine to lay down a bit of a marker for the tournament by taking care of Adrian Mannarino in a little easier fashion than twelve months ago. They met at the exact same stage here in Australia and it was Mannarino who won the first set with a surprising 6-2 scoreline before Del Potro took control and won three sets in a row for the loss of 10 games.
I am expecting a much more solid performance from Del Potro in this one and I expect he will be given a few chances to break serve. Mannarino doesn't have that many big shots in his arsenal and that will give Del Potro the chance to dictate points and be able to come away with a scoreline matching the last three sets from a year ago without the blip of the opening set.
Mannarino has opened the season with 8 straight wins so confidence won't be an issue, but he hasn't faced anyone close to the level that Del Potro produces and that should make all the difference.
Petra Kvitova - 4.5 games v Francesca Schiavone: Petra Kvitova has opened 2013 in the same way she finished up 2012 and that has to be a concern for a player that should be a real contender at every Grand Slam event she competes in.
The last few months of the 2012 season were disappointing for the Czech player, but I still like her chances in this one against the veteran Francesca Schiavone who has also had a poor start to the new season after a real slow down season last time out.
Schivaone is coming to the end of her career and I think Kvitova is going to be overpower her in this one after beating the Italian in all 3 matches against one another last season. The last two of those would have seen Kvitova cover this spread and I think she is going to be good enough to power through Schiavone again.
MY PICKS: Marin Cilic - 6.5 Games @ 2.20 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Juan Martin Del Potro - 7.5 Games @ 2.10 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Petra Kvitova - 4.5 Games @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Australian Open Update: 1-3, - 3.40 Units (7 Units Staked, - 48.6% Yield)
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