All three completed selections failed to win- strangely all of those players picked when on long losing runs, which can happen on the clay courts, and that ultimately was the main reason they were unable to cover.
To be fair, two of the players ended up losing outright, but Richard Gasquet did earn his place in the Second Round in ATP Marrakech. That doesn't really matter to me and it comes down to bad picks rather than bad luck to open the events being played this week.
This is only the start of the week so the three losses are a disappointment. Plenty more matches are to be scheduled before the Monte Carlo Masters begin next week.
Tallon Griekspoor - 3.5 games v Pavel Kotov: Strong performances on the clay courts in 2021 has pushed Tallon Griekspoor up the World Rankings, but you can never really tell how a player will perform in his first match on a new surface.
He has at least won a Davis Cup tie on the clay courts this season, but the Dutchman has not played in a clay court tournament since October. Tallon Griekspoor has actually won his last fifteen matches on the clay, but the real test is going to be taking his form on the Challenger Tour onto the main ATP Tour.
That is something we will come to see over the next several weeks as Tallon Griekspoor is in a position to play in some of the big clay court tournaments in the build towards the French Open.
However, that is not really the case in his opening match at the tournament in Marrakech as Tallon Griekspoor opens up against Pavel Kotov. The Russian is Ranked at World Number 172, but he has won a couple of Qualifiers and that has to be respected.
One of those wins did come against the veteran Fernando Verdasco, but Pavel Kotov has not really faced too many top players on the surface. Even then, his numbers have been relatively poor on the clay in 2021 and I do think Pavel Kotov has a vulnerable serve which can be exploited by Tallon Griekspoor.
Serving on this surface can be difficult, but Tallon Griekspoor has an edge with the level he can perform at on the clay and I think he will be able to win this First Round match by a good margin.
Nick Kyrgios - 1.5 games v Tommy Paul: The First Round match in Houston was the first time Nick Kyrgios had played a competitive match on the clay courts in almost three years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he dropped the first set, but Nick Kyrgios has kept the positive form going by rallying and taking his place in the Second Round. For a long time the clay courts in Houston have been quicker than those these players are going to face when they head to the European events taking place before the US Open and it is the main reason so many American players and those that prefer the hard courts stay in North America for the opening clay court event of their seasons.
Nick Kyrgios has previously had some successes on the clay courts with his serve a big weapon on the surface, but in more recent times he has struggled with his return. That has not been the case overall in 2022 and the Australian looked to be in decent touch in knocking off Mackenzie McDonald in the First Round.
This is going to be a tougher test against Tommy Paul, but the American had to battle through his own First Round match and was a little fortunate that his opponent had to pull out with an injury. Tommy Paul has been an average clay court player in his career, but he did have a decent run to the Semi Final of a one year standalone event in Parma in 2021.
However, I do think Tommy Paul will have a tough time dealing with the serve that Nick Kyrgios has and the latter is returning well enough to earn the edge in the match.
It should be tight considering Tommy Paul's improvement- however, Nick Kyrgios looks to be fully motivated at the moment and I think he can be backed to move through to the Quarter Final in Houston this week.
MY PICKS: Tallon Griekspoor - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Nick Kyrgios - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 0-3, - 6 Units (6 Units Stake, - 100% Yield)
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