It was a tough opening day of a new week thanks to Jeremy Chardy blowing a big lead in the second set tie-break before losing the match on another breaker. The first pick of Jurgen Melzer to cover the handicap was just a purely terrible call and the last pick of the day was curtailed thanks to the rain and will be held over until Tuesday.
There is a lot of tennis scheduled for Tuesday, but there are a lot of tough matches to pick or players that look remarkably short in the market so I will only make a few plays and look to turn this week back into a positive spin.
The outright picks for the week can be read here.
Dmitry Tursunov - 2.5 games v Igor Sijsling: Earlier on his career, Dmitry Tursunov had a lot of success on the grass courts, but he has lost his last five matches on the surface although it has only been a couple of years since he won a title on the grass too.
Tursunov has a big serve and heavy groundstrokes that should take hold on the grass, but he has to be careful when dealing with Igor Sijsling who also has a decent first serve and is very capable of putting his best tennis together on grass.
He showed that by reaching the Semi Final of a Challenger event in Nottingham last week and he also managed to earn his way through to the Third Round at Queens Club twelve months ago.
The Dutchman will cause problems for Tursunov considering the latter hasn't won a match on grass for a while, but I think this is a match Tursunov can win. He has been playing well this season to back up his comeback year in 2013 and I believe the Russian can take a tie-break before breaking Sijsling's spirit to compete any further.
Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 games v James Ward: I have picked Grigor Dimitrov to have a big week in the outright picks I have made at the beginning of the tournament which can be read above and I expect the Bulgarian to be too good for the British Number 2 James Ward.
I respect Ward for raising his game during this portion of the season and for reaching the French Open main draw last month after going through the difficult qualifying stage. Ward has a decent first serve and his backhand is solid, but the forehand can break down and he may be pushed to breaking point by Dimitrov.
Being the first match on grass can make life difficult for the seeded players in these tournaments so soon after the clay courts, but Dimitrov would have been adjusting since his First Round surprise loss at Roland Garros.
The style of play that Dimitrov has adopted should be very good for the grass courts and I do think he is going to have a big week which will begin with a 63, 64 win in this Second Round match on Tuesday afternoon.
Johanna Konta - 3.5 games v Kurumi Nara: I won't lie and say I have seen a lot of Johanna Konta, but the times I have seen her play, I have seen the potential of someone who should be a feature of the top 100 and perhaps even as high as the top 50.
Konta has heavy groundstrokes and she has dominated the head to head with Kurumi Nara including beating her here in Birmingham at the same stage twelve months ago.
The Brit also reached the Semi Final in Nottingham last week in a tournament which was a level lower than the main WTA Tour, but that will have given Konta a little more confidence that she can perform here this week.
Kurumi Nara is an ever improving player on the Tour and I imagine she will make this closer than last year, but I am not sure she will have the same comfort on the grass courts as her opponent and I think Konta comes through 64, 64.
Heather Watson - 2.5 games v Aleksandra Wozniak: 2013 was not a great season for Heather Watson who had a few injury issues during the course of the season, but she is looking like getting back to her best this year.
Watson is once again the British Number 1 following her run to the Second Round at Roland Garros, and she should be much more comfortable returning to the grass courts.
She has also been given a kind draw against the game Aleksandra Wozniack, although the Canadian has not had a lot of success on the grass courts. She has won a couple of qualifiers here which should have boosted confidence, but Watson will be able to extract errors from her game and I expect that will lead to her place in the Second Round.
Her defence can be troublesome to someone as erratic as Wozniak and Watson should be too strong in a 63, 75 win.
MY PICKS: Feliciano Lopez - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units) Rain Delay with Lopez leading 63
Dmitry Tursunov - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 Games @ 2.06 Unibet (2 Units)
Johanna Konta - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Heather Watson - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 0-2, - 4 Units (4 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)
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