Rome Masters Tennis Picks 2019 (May 17th)

The rain on Wednesday meant fifty matches were scheduled in Rome for Thursday as the majority of the Second Round and the whole of the Third Round had to be completed as well as a host of Doubles matches.

It was a busy day all around, but the headlines were grabbed by Nick Kyrgios just twenty-four hours after the release of an explosive interview on a podcast.

In that interview, Kyrgios admitted his dislike for both Fernando Verdasco and Novak Djokovic and had some words for Rafael Nadal too. It sounded like the Australian doesn't have a lot of time for any of those players, although he was glowing of Roger Federer before describing Andy Murray's head to head with Djokovic as 'embarrassing' despite being close to the Scot.

We don't really hear stuff like this from tennis players these days so it was a breath of fresh air and certainly makes future matches between Kyrgios and any of the three he disparaged as 'must watch' entertainment. Some would not have liked it, but I don't mind people speaking their minds, although it backed up why I almost never make selections on Kyrgios matches despite being a fan.

He admitted he doesn't owe the fans anything and he is a terrible favourite to get behind. As an underdog he can be interesting and he might even be someone that can be opposed at times, but I like steering clear as I can't guess what he is going to bring from day to day.

To back up that feeling, Kyrgios decided to throw his chair onto the court in his Second Round defeat in Rome on Thursday. He then packed up his stuff and walked off court while on serve in the third set and that earned Krygios a default and more unwanted headlines.


I know he could be a top player if he put his mind to it, but for too long Kyrgios has admitted he doesn't love tennis enough to want to work at his game. Maybe he will eventually get it, or maybe he will be the enigma that people can't help watching.

I think he is a better bloke than he likes to portray on the court and I will remain a fan. He is someone I would pay to watch, despite my doubts about what kind of performance we will see from him, and that is because I do think he is entertaining. Each to their own I suppose.


In this thread I have updated the season totals and the weekly total having seen the last couple of days disrupted with matches being held over.


MY PICKS: Kei Nishikori - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Victoria Azarenka - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Johanna Konta @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Rome Update: 17-15, + 0 Units (64 Units Staked, + 0% Yield)

Season 2019: + 73.40 Units (655 Units Staked, + 11.21% Yield)