Yesterday produced a number of surprise results from the tennis that was being played, especially seeing David Ferrer being knocked out of the tournament in Barcelona. Since beating Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo, Ferrer has not exactly had the best of results and I do wonder if he is still on the climbdown from one of the better wins of his career.
The likes of Alexandr Dolgopolov and Fabio Fognini were pretty solid favourites, both that I picked to win and cover spreads, but both were comfortably dismissed. The only good thing Fognini did all day was decide to quit after losing 10 games in a row and that also voided the pick on him on what looked to be a tough day before Marin Cilic pulled out the win late in the day.
The Third Round is going to be played on Thursday in Barcelona and I hope the picks have a stronger day than how they started on Wednesday.
Ernests Gulbis - 3.5 games v Albert Montanes: I was beaten by Albert Montanes in the Second Round as he dismissed Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, but I think Ernests Gulbis will prove too good for him in this Third Round match.
The Montanes win over Dolgopolov was actually a really close match and it was the Spaniard who took his limited chances to secure the win. He will have to be that clinical again if he is to beat someone like Gulbis, a player that has had success on the slower surfaces before.
In fact, Gulbis' best showing in a Grand Slam came at the French Open and he had a decent win a couple of days ago to move through to this stage.
Gulbis can look after his serve effectively and Montanes will have to serve as well as he did yesterday to keep this close. I think that could be tough two days in a row for the veteran and I like Gulbis to win 75, 64.
Fernando Verdasco v Nicolas Almagro: This match has been set as a pick 'em by most of the layers, although Fernando Verdasco is the slight underdog and I can't help feel that is still getting things wrong on their part.
Fernando Verdasco has a strong head to head record against Nicolas Almagro and sometimes that can happen between players from the same country regardless of how the rest of the season may go.
There could be a mental block in Almagro's case against someone he would have played against for years and Verdasco pulled yet another win when the players met in the Final in Houston a couple of weeks ago.
Verdasco has also won the last 4 matches between the pair on the clay courts and I think he has to be backed as the underdog to win this match, although it may need three sets to do so.
MY PICKS: Ernests Gulbis - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Fernando Verdasco @ 2.00 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 1-2, - 1.6 Units (6 Units Staked, - 26.67% Yield)
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