It was only this time last week that I was saying a long tennis season will have the ups and downs that comes with making picks after a tough week of the Tour... That has swung the other way this week with plenty of profits to speak of that was concluded with a profit showing for the season.
I had a couple of tough days during the week, but a strong run in the last three days as well as Ivo Karlovic reaching the Final in Memphis helped end the week with a lot of positives to take forward.
This week the Tour has moved on to stops in Dubai (WTA), Marseille (ATP), Delray Beach (ATP) and Rio de Janeiro (ATP)... The tournament in Dubai has most of the big names in the women's game in action, but most of the top men's players are not competing this week although Rafael Nadal is back on the court after his Australian Open Final defeat.
Hopefully I can find a couple of players that can provide deep runs in those tournaments following Karlovic's success last week and help set out another good week.
ATP Marseille
There are two top ten players in the Rankings that will be playing in Marseille and both Frenchmen, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will feel they have an excellent chance to win the title.
It is Tsonga who is favoured to win the tournament after the draw was made and you can't argue too much with that assessment as he is in the weaker half of the draw. He is also the defending Champion in Marseille after being forced to save a match point in his three set win over Tomas Berdych twelve months ago and I do think there is every chance he can retain the title this week.
Tsonga was beaten in the Second Round last week in Rotterdam by the in-form Marin Cilic so there is nothing to really worry about in terms of current form, while none of the other seeded players in his half of the draw can say they are in anything resembling good form.
One of the more dangerous players in his half could be Michael Llodra, a player that has usually reserved his best tennis for the indoor hard court events held in France. However, Llodra is another player that hasn't really had any form to speak of to open 2014 and that alone would make it a big surprise if he was to trouble Tsonga if the two players meet in the Semi Final.
I will put a couple of units on Tsonga to retain his title, but I think it may also be worth going against Richard Gasquet as the Number 1 seed who has struggled in Marseille in the past. While Gasquet should be able to move through to the Semi Final without too many issues, Ernests Gulbis could be a huge threat in that Round if he is still serving as effectively as he did for much of last week.
Gulbis has a bye in the First Round and he will be confident of seeing off Roberto Bautista-Agut in a potential Second Round match having dismissed the Spaniard on the indoor hard courts of St Petersburg at the end of last season.
The Latvian played with a bit of swagger last week and won a title on the indoor hard courts at the end of last season so I think he could be worth an interest at each-way to come through the tournament.
ATP Delray Beach
This draw looks incredibly bottom heavy in Delray Beach this week and it is that half of the draw that is going to provide the winner of the event as far as I am concerned. There is plenty of good form here with the likes of Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori both having won titles in the last couple of weeks, but that amount of tennis can also catch up on players.
The one player that may be able to take advantage of that is the returning John Isner who has been troubled by an ankle injury to open 2014, but has already won one title at Auckland.
Isner has seemingly been given a decent draw to get his teeth into the tournament and I would think he would be too good for Vasek Pospisil in a Quarter Final, even if the Canadian has the better head to head record of the two players.
However, Isner has perhaps been a little unfortunate in the losses and I would like the American to level up their personal series and perhaps prove a little too fresh for either Nishikori or Cilic in the Semi Final.
A small interest on Isner each-way looks a decent price for the week if he is back to health, especially as he can shed some rust early in the tournament before the bigger challenges coming up.
The seeds in the top half all have to prove that they are capable of better after indifferent starts to the new season, while the likes of Tommy Haas is coming across from Europe and has been inconsistent at best. Feliciano Lopez, Kevin Anderson and Lleyton Hewitt all will have some support, but I will just stick with Isner from this tournament.
MY PICKS: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga @ 2.63 Coral (2 Units)
Ernests Gulbis @ 7.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit E/W)
John Isner @ 7.50 Stan James (1 Unit E/W)
Weekly Picks: 14-7, + 16.60 Units (67 Units Staked, + 24.78% Yield)
Outright Picks: 1-2, + 1 Unit (6 Unit Stakeds, + 16.67% Yield)
Season 2014: + 6.47 Units (251 Units Staked, + 2.51% Yield)
Season 2013: + 21.74 Units (1251.5 Units Staked, + 1.73% Yield)
Season 2012: + 49.21 Units (855 Units Staked, + 5.76% Yield)
Season 2011: + 82.02 Units
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