Tennis Picks 2013 (April 12th)

Yesterday we saw the Sam Querrey pick being voided as he pulled out of the tournament in Houston and was replaced by Ivo Karlovic. I had mentioned that he might be mentally a little beat up after what happened in the match with Novak Djokovic in the Davis Cup.

It has to hurt that he won just one game in the third and fourth set, after taking the second set in a tie-break, especially after all the rumours that Novak Djokovic wouldn't be playing at the French Open after an injury suffered in just the third game of the match.

That has to hurt a professional that he barely threatened a win against a hobbled opponent, no matter if it is the World Number 1 or not, and so I wasn't overly surprised that he decided to pull out in Houston. The clay court season has never been a big success for any of the top American players in the past, and so this has to be a tough portion of the season for the likes of Querrey and John Isner, although the latter is certainly capable on the surface as shown when he pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets at the French Open.


Roberta Vinci - 4.5 games v Karolina Pliskova: Roberta Vinci has certainly improved as a player on the Singles court thanks to her success in the Doubles and I think she has enough to see off Karolina Pliskova in this Quarter Final in Katowice.

There is no doubt that Pliskova can cause some problems for Vinci in this one, but I think the Italian certainly has an awkward game that can frustrate her younger opponent, especially the backhand slice that could produce a lot of unforced errors from the Pliskova racquet.

I am expecting a few breaks of serve in the match and that can be a problem with a spread of this size, especially as Vinci is not one to panic if she loses a set, but I am looking for the Italian to just be a little too solid and win this in straight sets, likely 6-4, 6-3.


MY PICKS: Roberta Vinci - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet 365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 2-1, + 1.25 Units (3 Units Staked, + 41.67% Yield)