Tennis Picks 2013 (July 19th)

As the week draws to a close, we have reached the Quarter Final at the tournaments being played this week. The picks have been slightly successful this week up to this point, but a little more luck will see another strong week to follow the tournaments last week and Wimbledon before that.

Nicolas Almagro - 2.5 games v Juan Monaco: This is a classic clay court match between two players that are most comfortable on this surface.

Both players will know they have what it takes to beat the other, but I do think Nicolas Almagro is playing the slightly more solid tennis.

There is no doubt that both Almagro and Juan Monaco are having down years and both could start slipping down the Rankings. However, it is Monaco that seems to have slipped a little more this season than the Spaniard and his serve can be a liability at times.

I expect there to be some gruelling rallies in the match, but I believe Almagro has the more power in the groundstrokes and the serve that will lead the match in his favour. Almagro has to keep his errors to a minimum and if he does that, I expect he will win the match. This will likely be a fun match to watch while it lasts, but Almagro should come through 75, 63.

Fernando Verdasco - 3.5 games v Federico Delbonis: This has been a huge week for Federico Delbonis as he qualified for the tournament in Hamburg and has then won three matches to reach the Quarter Final. That gives him every chance of entering the top 100 on Monday, but it could be a big ask for the Argentine player to knock off an in-form Fernando Verdasco.

Verdasco was a disappointment in the Final in Bastad last week as he fell to Carlos Berlocq, but overall his form has been good for around a month after a disappointing 2013. It is likely that he will enter the top 30 in the World Rankings with another win and he has a couple of decent wins under his belt from this week.

I have been impressed with the consistency Delbonis has shown in his last two wins over Dmitry Tursunov and Tommy Robredo, but he will be put under a lot of pressure by Verdasco in this one.

With the power and aggression that Verdasco has been able to play with in the last month, I think he will keep the pressure on Delbonis in this match. The double faults remain a problem for Verdasco, but he has served effectively for the most part and I think he finds a way to record a 64, 64 win.

Tommy Haas - 2.5 games v Fabio Fognini: Last week, I backed Tommy Haas to clear the spread against Fabio Fognini and couldn't have got it more wrong as the Italian won the match comfortably and then went on to win the tournament in Stuttgart.

Fognini is clearly very confident at the moment and he has followed the win, his first title on the Tour, with a couple of wins this week. The Italian has dropped just one set in his last seven matches so confidence will certainly be high.

However, the amount of tennis he has played recently will surely catch up with him at some point and I expect a much better effort from Tommy Haas in this one after the lacklustre way he was beaten last week.

I am expecting Haas to find more success against Fognini's second serve and I expect the German to make the necessary adjustments in this one to overturn the result from last week. I thought Haas would be able to create chances on the Fognini serve last week, while I expect him to serve much more effectively in this one.

A confident Fognini is a different animal and he is certainly having his best year on the Tour, but I think Haas can get a measure of revenge by winning this in straight sets.


Vasek Pospisil - 3.5 games v Matteo Viola: I think the appearance of Matteo Viola at the Quarter Final stage is a real surprise to me, but his run could come to an end on Friday.

The court in Bogota is playing incredibly quickly from the tennis I have seen and that should aid Vasek Pospisil who has a big serve and has been comfortable getting to the net to put away volleys.

With the speed in the court, it can be tough to break serve, but I think the Canadian's aggression will aid him massively and he will put a lot of pressure on Viola to pass him at the net, which is not easy against a player with the wingspan Pospisil possesses.

The Italian will be confident from a couple of wins this week, but I think Pospisil is the better hard court player and can book his place in the Semi Final after a 76, 63 win.

MY PICKS: Nicolas Almagro - 2.5 Games @ 1.92 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Fernando Verdasco - 3.5 Games @ 2.05 Pinnacle (2 Units)

Tommy Haas - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Vasek Pospisil - 3.5 Games @ 1.92 Pinnacle (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 8-7, + 1.40 Units (30 Units Staked, + 4.67% Yield)