The first tournaments of the season have already got under way and you can see the outright picks I have made from the events in Brisbane and Doha here.
It can be a little bit of a minefield early in the season as the long lay off for many players between competitive matches can see a little bit of rustiness in the play. That makes the possibility of surprise results that much more of a problem to contend with, although players do take these tournaments extremely seriously as they look to put early points in the bank and get a lot of playing time ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season.
For many, winning at the Australian Open is not a realistic goal for this first month of the season, but they can set the standard for the season with strong tournaments. We have seen how quickly players can move up, and down the Rankings, by picking up some early momentum, but also be aware of the difficulties that come with the early matches back on the grind of the tennis Tour.
Feliciano Lopez - 1.5 games v Mikhail Kukushkin: Feliciano Lopez had to contend with injuries in the early portion of the season but he was playing some effective tennis after the French Open and I think this match is a good chance for him to get off to a win for the season.
He has the big lefty-serve that can be a potent weapon when he is on his game, while the ability to close the net makes it tough for the lesser players on the Tour to consistently pass Lopez when he is looking to volley.
There is no doubt that the Lopez return game is not the most effective part of his game, especially with a back hand that he prefers to slice a return back into play than actually hit over the ball. It won't be easy to find too many chances to break the Mikhail Kukushkin serve if the Kazakh players brings in his top form.
Kukushkin can make life tough for opponents by winning easy points off his first serve, but he has not performed too well on the hard courts when it comes to full ATP Tour events. It will also be interesting to see how Kukushkin's shoulder is doing as an injury to that part of his body ended his season early last year and I like Lopez to find a 76, 64 win.
Jeremy Chardy win 2-0 v Adrian Mannarino: I don't think either of these players is really good enough to be a top 20 player on a regular basis on the ATP Tour, but I do feel there is more upside in the Jeremy Chardy game compared with Adrian Mannarino.
While Chardy has been able to surprise some of the bigger names in the sport, including a win over Juan Martin Del Potro at the Australian Open last season, Adrian Mannarino has generally found the upper echelon of the men's game to be far too good.
He has still done well to enter the top 60 by the end of the season, but I don't know how much further up the Rankings he can go if he starts playing more ATP level events. He has struggled in his three matches against Chardy, losing all three without winning a set, and that is down to the fact that Mannarino will not get as many cheap points behind his serve.
Mannarino has to work for every point he earns and that can bring a lot of pressure mentally, especially of Chardy is serving well and getting through his service games with a little more comfort. A small interest in Chardy to continue his dominance of his compatriot is the call and I will back him to win this in straight sets.
Mousa Zayed + 11.5 games v Andy Murray: This is nothing but a pick on the principle that no tennis player should be given this many games in a professional tournament, even against someone as good as Andy Murray.
This 19 year old local kid might easily lose the match with a double bagel, but Andy Murray is going to want to test things out on court and that could lead to Zayed sneaking a game in this one after he won just 3 games against Gael Monfils last season.
If Murray is concentrating fully on getting through in double quick time, he will win this easily and might win without dropping a game, but I think he may just be thinking of getting some tennis under his legs and may complacently lose a game.
Either way, at evens, you have to have the small interest on Mousa Zayed to find a game.
Rafael Nadal - 5.5 games v Lukas Rosol: The World Number 1 will play his first official match of the season on Tuesday and will be facing a familiar face across the court and one that Rafael Nadal will certainly not have the fondest memories of.
Lukas Rosol stunned Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012 which sparked a seven month absence from the Tour for the Spaniard, but I expect Nadal to get a measure of revenge in this one.
Let's face facts, Rosol caught lightning in a bottle in that match on Centre Court 18 months ago and it is a big ask for him to hit the stunning winners time after time in this one as it took back then to see off Nadal. Don't expect Nadal to be laid back for this one as he gets the chance to earn a measure of revenge for that surprise loss and Rosol hasn't played well against the big names on the ATP Tour since that win over the Spaniard.
Rosol was handed a bagel by David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic (twice) during the 2013 season and I believe a motivated Nadal will find at least two breaks of serve in a single set to put himself in a strong position to cover this number of games. Nadal has played so well over the last few months and has been recharged with the break from competitive tennis and I will back him to make a good start with a 62, 64 win.
MY PICKS: Feliciano Lopez - 1.5 Games @ 2.05 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Jeremy Chardy Win 2-0 @ 2.63 William Hill (1 Unit)
Mousa Zayed + 11.5 Games @ 2.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Rafael Nadal - 5.5 Games @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
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