Tennis Picks 2019 (June 13th)

The weather in London isn't exactly screaming June and summer, but the same can be said around Europe.

Both events in Stuttgart and Hertogenbosch have been affected by the poor conditions around, but at least they managed to keep their events on track for the most part. On Thursday the Cricket World Cup arrives in Nottingham for the latest game in that tournament, but fans won't be too pleased to know that the WTA event and ATP Challenger event being held there has been moved indoors because of all the rain that has been in the area this week.

It looks like more of the same there on Thursday, but my focus is on the matches that are actually going to be played on the grass. I had a mixed Tuesday, but I am disappointed I did not write anything out for Wednesday. Life got in the way a little bit, but that is just the way it goes and there are angles that hit the mark for Thursday to try and get this week moving in a positive direction.


The one issue with grass court events is that we don't get a huge sample of form or how players are going to deal with the surface. There are some players out there on Thursday who might not have had much fun on the grass in their careers so far, but these things can quickly be turned around in the three or four events players take in over the next month.

Small samples mean it is tougher to get a read of how a player can perform on the grass, but we do have enough to make plays on the way through to Wimbledon when more stock can be put into the form displayed in the weeks leading to the third Grand Slam of the season.

It is something to consider and will also make a difference for those matches that are hitting enough marks to mak the selections over the remainder of the month.


Adrian Mannarino - 1.5 games v Fernando Verdasco: A couple of years ago Adrian Mannarino recorded his first win over Fernando Verdasco when these two players met on the grass courts of Antalya. They play in the Second Round in Hertogenbosch on Thursday and this is the first match the Spaniard will be playing on the grass in 2019.

There was a time when Verdasco was actually a pretty happy player on the grass, but the last couple of years have been more of a struggle for him. He has been losing a lot more than he has been winning and Verdasco's numbers have been average to say the least despite what you would consider to be a decent game that should transfer onto the surface.

To be fair to Verdasco, he has maintained decent hold numbers on the grass over the last few years. However the return has not had the same impact and that has left him vulnerable in matches and I think that is especially the case early in this grass season as he gets set to take on a competent player on the surface who already has produced a win to move into the Second Round.

Adrian Mannarino will be glad to be moving from off the clay and onto the grass courts, although there is some pressure on him with plenty of points to defend over the next month. Last year he reached the Final in Antalya and also had a Quarter Final run at Queens and Fourth Round run at Wimbledon so it may be difficult for Mannarino to prevent the slide down the World Rankings his last twelve months perhaps deserved.

His win in the First Round was a good one, but against an opponent who has not played a lot of tennis at this level in the last couple of years through injury. There have been signs that Mannarino is declining as a player and 2018 was a much tougher year on the grass compared with 2017 even though he earned one more win that year.

The Frenchman has a vulnerable serve which is a concern going into this match, but I do think he finds enough returns that can stay low on the grass which can cause problems for his opponent. Adrian Mannarino is confident enough on a grass court to believe he can win this match even though Fernando Verdasco is the more talented player on the court.


Richard Gasquet - 1.5 games v Mikhail Kukushkin: It is going to take Richard Gasquet a little bit of time to recover to a point where he can play his best tennis on the Tour. A long injury lay off and a return on the clay courts was perhaps far from ideal, but Gasquet is one of the more comfortable grass court players out there.

His win in the First Round in Hertogenbosch looks a solid one even if Gasquet needed three tough sets which could have sapped some energy. He certainly was more convincing than Mikhail Kukushkin, although I do think this is another player who is very happy on the grass and can use a decent serve to set up his entire performance from match to match.

Both players do have solid serves for the surface and they can both return effectively enough which makes this a close match. The lack of matches in the legs in 2019 may affect Richard Gasquet, but his serve has proved to be more potent of the two in their previous matches.

That may be the case and the difference maker when they play each other in this Second Round match. I do think Kukushkin will challenge Gasquet considering his own level on the grass and those lack of matches I have mentioned, but the Frenchman is someone who can produce some of his best tennis on this surface and I expect him to edge this one.

MY PICKS: Adrian Mannarino - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Richard Gasquet - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Matteo Berrettini-Karen Khachanov Over 24.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Alexander Zverev - 3.5 Games @ 2.20 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Felix Auger-Aliassime - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 6-6, - 1.34 Units (24 Units Staked, - 5.58% Yield)

Season 2019: + 75.37 Units (956 Units Staked, + 7.88% Yield)