Tennis Picks 2014 (May 21st)

The tournaments before the French Open will be continuing on Wednesday as Second Round action commences. The Tuesday picks produced a 2-2 record, while I have only found two matches of interest through the day with thoughts already turning to Paris.


Dmitry Tursunov + 2.5 games v Robin Haase: It hasn't been a good clay court season for Dmitry Tursunov with some really poor results on the surface, but one of the successes he had came against Robin Haase in Monte Carlo.

The Dutchman also has had a pretty poor six weeks on the clay courts, although he did reach a Semi Final in Bucharest and that will have sapped some confidence for Haase who relies on mentally being in a strong place to win matches.

Tursunov's serve may keep Haase on his toes in this one and I think the heavy shots off the ground could give him the edge in this match. It was the first serve that gave Tursunov a platform to build upon in Monte Carlo and if he serves at a high clip in this Second Round, I would expect him to come through.

Either way, I am struggling to understand why Tursunov is the underdog in this match by a considerable margin and I will take the games he is being given.


Ernests Gulbis - 3.5 games v Martin Klizan: Martin Klizan must feel in a great place having won nine matches in a row which saw him take the title in Munich after qualifying for that event. He had some big wins over the likes of Tommy Haas and Fabio Fognini in that tournament and is obviously in a good place, but Ernests Gulbis should pose plenty of problems for him.

It has taken some top players to prevent Gulbis from really going deep into a tournament the last month, but the Latvian is playing some of the most consistent tennis of his career.

Gulbis has a decent serve and a heavy weight of shot off the ground and I expect that will trouble Klizan, although the latter has a lefty serve that will cause its own problems.

A tight first set may end in a tie-breaker, but I expect Gulbis to then pull away and win this match 76, 63.

MY PICKS: Dmitry Tursunov + 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Ernests Gulbis - 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Pinnacle (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 2-2, - 0.20 Units (8 Units Staked, - 2.5% Yield)