It has been a mixed couple of days to open this week, with some picks just requiring a little bit of luck to get over the line, while some others have just been poor from beginning to end.
For a long time I had Alexandr Dolgopolov on my black list simply because he was far too erratic to really get a good feel of what you're going to get when he enters the court. While he has produced some winning picks over the last twelve months, there is something not quite right with him at the moment and the manner of his last two defeats has to be a real concern for his supporters.
The Second Round will continue at the events on Wednesday as the tournaments keep moving forward with the next Masters tournament fast approaching.
Victor Hanescu v Albert Montanes: Both of these players are very comfortable on the clay courts and will be very familiar with one another having met ten times on the Tour including earlier this season in Nice, a match that Albert Montanes won in two tight sets on his way to the title.
This should be a fun match with the contrasting styles of Montanes looking to grind down his opponent by attempting to get one more ball back into play and trying to extract mistakes, while Victor Hanescu will look to be aggressive behind serve and try to hit through his opponent.
The conditions in Kitzbuhel may just help Hanescu do that as it will give his serve a little more bite, but he will need to keep his cool and not offer too many unforced errors up for Montanes. The altitude here in this part of Austria may also help the ball move that much quicker that the speed of the Spaniard is not so much a factor this time around.
It is Hanescu who has been in the better form over the last month and I will back him to win this pick 'em contest.
Juan Monaco - 4.5 games v Andreas Haider-Maurer: It has been a rough start for some of the seeded players in Kitzbuhel, but Juan Monaco may be able to take advantage of a local hope Andreas Haider-Maurer.
The Austrian is a Wild Card this week and won his First Round match against a compatriot who had qualified, but facing someone like Monaco is going to be very difficult if the latter is able to perform to the best of his ability.
It hasn't been a great season for Monaco, but he held match points in his Quarter Final against Mikhail Youzhny, the eventual winner in Gstaad, last week. As long as that hasn't had a negative effect on the Argentine, he should be able to come to Kitzbuhel with the game to take out Haider-Maurer.
Monaco can be a bit hit and miss behind his serve which is a problem when it comes to spreads like these, but he is capable of testing the rhythm Haider-Maurer has in his own game and extracting unforced errors from his opponent as he forces him to get closer and closer to the lines to win points. As long as Monaco doesn't commit some of the errors that have blighted his game at times this season, I would expect him to win this 63, 64.
Fernando Verdasco - 3.5 games v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: The last time Fernando Verdasco was on court, he was fuming at some of the missed opportunities that saw him beaten at the Quarter Final stage in Hamburg. However, it has been a good month for him since reaching the Quarter Final at Wimbledon and he has a strong chance of being seeded at the US Open next month.
I believe he will see this as a big week to pick up points, even though his game does remain effective on the hard courts where the Masters tournaments begin next week ahead of the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.
He should have a strong chance to progress to the Quarter Final here in Kitzbuhel as he takes on his compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, a player that won in the First Round, but who hasn't been in great form recently. Garcia-Lopez has had some big defeats against Nicolas Almagro and Juan Monaco in the last month and someone like Verdasco could certainly put him under a lot of pressure.
However, Verdasco has the tendency to drop serve at silly times in matches and he needs to remain focused if he is to win this match. The saving grace is that Garcia-Lopez doesn't possess an intimidating serve himself and I expect Verdasco to get the best of the breaks of serve to come through 64, 64.
Laura Robson + 3.5 games v Petra Kvitova: When players are as wildly inconsistent as these two, spreads that are a little short like this one could easily go either way.
However, there are a couple of reasons I think Laura Robson is capable of making a real match of this against Petra Kvitova, the former Wimbledon Champion who was beaten by Robson at the Australian Open back in January.
This is the first match Kvitova will have played on the Tour since Wimbledon, although Robson has only one more match under her belt following her First Round win yesterday. Both players are very comfortable on the hard courts as shown by Kvitova's two titles during this coming period last year and Robson reaching the Fourth Round at the US Open last September.
I also believe these are generally the kinds of matches that Robson really enjoys at the moment- she isn't at her best when there is the pressure of being the favourite, but playing the best players on the Tour as the underdog has been right up her street in her young career. Over the last twelve months she has pushed Maria Sharapova in a tough match and beaten the likes of Kim Clijsters, Na Li, Agnieszka Radwanska and Kvitova.
Robson may not win this match, but I expect she can push Kvitova and take a set off the inconsistent Czech player. As long as she remains mentally focused, Robson should be able to keep this close.
MY PICKS: Victor Hanescu @ 1.92 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Juan Monaco - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Fernando Verdasco - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet 365 (2 Units)
Laura Robson + 3.5 Games @ 1.90 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 5-5, - 1.14 Units (20 Units Staked, - 5.70% Yield)
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