Some poorer weather is expected to hit the grass court events being played this weekend, but Friday Quarter Finals could be played under some blistering heat across the tournaments. There are some fascinating matches that have been scheduled for the Quarter Finals and it could be a fun day for those who are fortunate enough to get to watch.
The first grass court tournaments of this newly extended portion of the season are important for players to find their rhythm as Rafael Nadal will be the first to tell you after coming through a very tough examination from Marcos Baghdatis in the Second Round. The importance of Halle and Queens have been increased by their improved level of status on the ATP Tour so that is when the really big names will join Nadal in the field, but I wouldn't disrespect the fields that have been put together for the most part this week.
The grass court season also means 'Brit Watch' for tennis tournaments around Wimbledon and it is a time of the season when these British players less well known than Andy Murray can have an impact on the Tour. It has happened regularly down the years only for said player to then disappear for twelve months as they go back down to their regular level of competition, but one player I have been expecting more out of is Johanna Konta.
Whenever I have seen Konta I have seen potential to be much better than her current Number 147 World Ranking, but injury did curtail some of her progress. It is a tough life outside of the top 100 having to play a lot of lower level tennis and Konta hasn't been able to find consistency from her play, but I think there is more about her than she has shown so far.
Konta has reached the Quarter Final in Nottingham this week and that is something to build upon not just up until Wimbledon, but the rest of the season and try to get into position to earn direct entry into Grand Slams going into 2016.
Robin Haase v Ivo Karlovic: I only wanted to recommend a small interest in Robin Haase to beat Ivo Karlovic in the Quarter Final in Hertogenbosch because I think the price is far too big when you consider how the Dutchman has played in his first couple of matches.
Well it is mainly the performance against Fernando Verdasco where Robin Haase served fantastically well and it has to be said that Ivo Karlovic wasn't that effective against Tatsuma Ito even though he came through in straight sets.
It is always going to be tough to break the Karlovic serve which makes this a dangerous pick if Haase's previous poor history with tie-breakers is to be taken into account. However, Ito got himself involved in a few of the Karlovic service games in the Second Round match and Haase might have half a chance to do the same if he can bottle the way he played against Verdasco.
That is a big doubt about Haase as his inconsistencies have prevented him really moving up the World Rankings, but Karlovic has been surprisingly poor on the grass courts over the last few years and could be upset in this Quarter Final.
David Goffin - 3.5 games v Illya Marchenko: The first time I saw Illya Marchenko play actually came live at Queens Club against one of my favourite players David Nalbandian a few years ago. Marchenko has since been a bit of a journeyman on the Tour who pops up in a main draw from time to time, but he can't be dismissed easily when you think of all the wins he has had at this tournament.
After coming through the qualifiers, Marchenko should have plenty of confidence that comes from five straight wins in which time he has dropped just two sets. This is his best performance on a grass court since Eastbourne 2010 and the Ukrainian has a decent serve which sits well on the grass.
However, I do think David Goffin is the kind of player that can frustrate Marchenko with his ability to get plenty of balls back in play and defend effectively. That will only eventually extract errors from the Marchenko game and I think the top Seeded player in the draw will work his way past the opponent by breaking down the confidence he has picked up this week.
It might also be hard for Marchenko to pick himself up if he has asked for a berth in the qualifiers for Halle/Queens next week and going a set behind against Goffin could spell the end of the run here. After a tight first set, Goffin can progress 75, 63.
Rafael Nadal - 1.5 games v Bernard Tomic: It might be a strange decision to back Rafael Nadal to come through against Bernard Tomic after the way that both players performed in their Second Round wins over Marcos Baghdatis and Tommy Haas respectively, but the tough nature of Nadal's win should aid him considerably.
It would have been another huge blow to the confidence if Nadal was beaten in the Second Round, but winning that match will make him feel better about how tight the match was. He admitted he started slowly in the match with Baghdatis, but felt much better by the end of it and that should help him in a tough Quarter Final.
There won't be much Nadal can do if Bernard Tomic is as dominant behind his serve as he was in the win over Tommy Haas. With two wins behind him this week, Tomic has plenty of belief in his own game and the Australian is very comfortable on the grass courts with plenty of strong performances on the surface over the last few years.
Tomic will know he has the game to hurt Nadal on this surface with a big serve backed up by some heavy groundstrokes. However it can be a big mental test when going up against the Spaniard and this looks like a match that Nadal can get his teeth into and come through in three sets.
Marin Cilic - 3.5 games v Mischa Zverev: Marin Cilic had to come through a couple of difficult moments in his win over Matthias Bachinger, but he was a worthy winner in his first match on grass this season. Now he will be expected to move into the Semi Final as he faces Mischa Zverev, but the German has earned plenty of confidence from his run to the Quarter Final after coming through the qualifiers.
A year filled with injury issues had Zverev close to retiring from tennis, but he has played well in 2015 albeit at a lower level than the one Cilic will present to him. Wins over Dominic Thiem and Andreas Seppi this week are impressive, but there were a couple of doubts over both players going into that match and those same doubts don't exist for Marin Cilic.
The Croatian has been playing well over the last couple of tournaments as he looks to get back to his best following an injury lay-off of his own. He is beginning to find his range on the return of serve, although Zverev's lefty delivery will cause some issues to resolve, and I do expect Cilic to find the right answers in this match.
As good as Zverev's run has been this week, Cilic does have the better grass court pedigree and I expect him to find a 64, 64 win.
Victor Troicki v Sam Groth: This match has been set as a pick 'em contest but I have to think Sam Groth is feeling some sort of fatigue from two weeks of tennis. He won the Manchester Challenger before travelling to Stuttgart and winning two matches which have virtually gone the absolute distance.
Compare that with Victor Troicki, who is a very comfortable player on the grass, who has won both matches relatively more easily than Groth and will have a lot of confidence being back on the faster surfaces.
Both players have decent serves, but the Groth double faults in his match against Feliciano Lopez has to be a concern going forwards. Of course Groth will feel invincible at the moment having recovered from a set down to beat Lopez in two tie-breakers, but Troicki has the ability to put some pressure on the Australian if there is some tiredness there.
It will be tight, I have no doubt about that, but Troicki can come through if he maintains the form that has seen him win in dominant fashion in the last couple of Rounds and as long as he isn't frustrated by a Groth serve which can be huge.
Agnieszka Radwanska - 5.5 games v Lauren Davis: It has been a poor season compared with the standards that Agnieszka Radwanska has set in recent years and that has seen her drop out of the top ten of the World Rankings. It is almost certain that this is going to be lowest win total for Radwanska since the 2010 season and even the 32 wins reached that season isn't a total she is certain to pass on current form.
However, Radwanska has won a couple of matches here this week in Nottingham which may give her some confidence to take into the rest of the grass court season. She is a former Finalist at Wimbledon and this is the kind of event that Radwanska has dominated in the past so her two wins this week would have been very welcome.
They have both come in dominating fashion too and facing someone like Lauren Davis should suit the Radwanska game down to the ground as there is little chance she is going to be overpowered. The American has also had to put in a lot of effort to win her two matches this week which could leave her short of the energy required to take on Radwanska in hot conditions.
Rallies should be fairly long and both will have chances to break serve, but Radwanska will get a little more power from her shots which can see her come through. It is not often Radwanska is the more powerful player on the court, but she is also capable of wearing Davis out in extended rallies and I think she comes through 64, 62.
Alison Riske - 2.5 games v Yanina Wickmayer: Yanina Wickmayer got through in two sets in her Second Round match on Thursday and she needed to do that as an illness seemed to have sapped her of much of her energy. It has been hot in Nottingham too so I am not sure how much recovery Wickmayer could have made in twenty-four hours and someone like Alison Riske could make her feel a lot worse.
Riske has been a good winner in her first two matches here and has plenty of grass court pedigree which would have made her a danger to Wickmayer anyway. However, I would have liked the chances of the latter a lot more if she was at full health and Riske would have been informed of the condition of the Belgian and is capable of moving Wickmayer around the court.
That is not going to make Wickmayer feel a lot better about herself if the illness is still sapping her energy and Riske has also won the last couple of times they have met on the Tour.
The two previous matches on grass courts have been split one each, but the extra fitness of Riske in this one is likely to make a difference and I think she battles through 64, 63.
MY PICKS: Robin Haase @ 2.63 Bet365 (1 Unit)
David Goffin - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Rafael Nadal - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Marin Cilic - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Victor Troicki @ 1.90 Betway (2 Units)
Agnieszka Radwanska - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Alison Riske - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 8-6, + 2.28 Units (28 Units Staked, + 8.14% Yield)
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