Wimbledon Tennis Day 13 Pick 2025- Women's Final (Saturday 12th July)

At the time of writing, the Men's Semi Final matches have yet to be completed, but the Ladies Final is know and will take centre stage on Saturday, albeit at a later start time than usual.

That may help as the main heat of the day is avoided and it should be a decent Final between two players who may not have felt they were going to be involved on the final Saturday when the tournament began.

Iga Swiatek - 3.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: Anyone who picked this as the Ladies Final at the start of the Wimbledon tournament would deserve a lot of praise, but to most, it is a surprising match up to determine the Champion of the third Grand Slam of the season.

Out of the two players, there is no doubt that former World Number 1 Iga Swiatek has the experience having won multiple French Open titles and also the US Open. She would become the only active player on the Tour that has won Grand Slams on all three surfaces if she can pick up the title on Saturday, although the run has surprised considering how little success Iga Swiatek has previously enjoyed at Wimbledon.

Prior to this season, Iga Swiatek had only reached the Quarter Final once as her best effort, but she has looked completely at ease on the surface having played well at Bad Homburg in the last warm up event on the grass.

The only 'negative' to her run through to the Final is that Iga Swiatek has only beaten one player Ranked inside the top 20 and you do have to wonder if that is going to be a potential problem. Yes, she has not really been pushed by opponents and the quality behind the serve has been really impressive, but it could also mean Swiatek is not as well prepared to play the Final as she would have been by beating stronger players.

Being prepared to face some of the best feels more comfortable for Amanda Anisimova having already seen off the World Number 1 in the Semi Final.

Strong performances on the grass ahead of Wimbledon will have given the American a lot of confidence, and that has shone through at tough moments with the win over Sabalenka meaning Amanda Anisimova has needed three sets in half of the six victories put on the board. However, that also means she will not be too concerned if this match gets tight having shown her character throughout the last fortnight.

It should be noted that Amanda Anisimova had enjoyed a pretty comfortable draw before the win over Aryna Sabalenka, but had made harder work of her run compared with her opponent in this Final.

There is a lot to like about the Anisimova game- she has a decent serve and aggressive groundstrokes which makes her dangerous on the return. The margins have felt tighter in her wins though and it is going to be tougher for Amanda Anisimova if she is not able to get plenty of first serves in play and try and shift the pressure onto Iga Swiatek.

The latter has been serving really well and looks to be about as comfortable as she has ever looked on the grass.

With the superior experience of Grand Slam Finals, Iga Swiatek may not make the mistakes that Aryna Sabalenka felt she did in the Semi Final and that could see her get the better of the lower Ranked player.

MY PICK: Iga Swiatek - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 5-4, + 0.52 Units (18 Units Staked, + 2.87% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 12 Picks 2024 (Friday 12th July)

With the Ladies Final set for Saturday, attention will turn to the Men's Semi Final matches on Day 12 of Wimbledon.

Three of the top five players are involved, while Lorenzo Musetti is looking to really make a massive statement by reaching his first Grand Slam Final in what has been a very good month of tennis for him.

He is the surprise of the Men's tournament, but Musetti is hoping to join his compatriot Matteo Berrettini in reaching a Wimbledon Final, while the bigger task is to try and become the second Italian to win a Grand Slam this season after Jannik Sinner was able to do that in Australia.

Beating Novak Djokovic is still the ultimate challenge in a best of five set format, while the other Semi Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev is a repeat of a Semi Final played at Wimbledon last year.

Novak Djokovic - 6.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: Italian Tennis has been experiencing a real boost over the last few years with some big names on the ATP Tour. Jasmine Paolini is making an impact on the WTA Tour and now Lorenzo Musetti is once again sharing some of the limelight of Jannik Sinner by returning to the top 20 in the World Rankings and gearing up for his first Grand Slam Semi Final.

He came through a battle in the Quarter Final against Taylor Fritz, but that win has continued what has been a fine month of grass court tennis.

Lorenzo Musetti is still only 22 years old and so it is perhaps no surprise that there has been a slight stagnation to the development on the Tour. Thirteen months ago he reached a career high World Ranking, but it has not been the easiest year on the Tour and that is why he had slipped out of the top 20.

Poor Grand Slam results have not helped, but Musetti has taken the form from reaching the Queen's Club Final and brought that with him on the short journey to Wimbledon. Overall the performances have been impressive, but the Italian has also had to show his battling qualities with a couple of five set wins and also being able to recover when behind.

All of that is likely going to be tested by Novak Djokovic who will be keenly listening out for boos instead of Muus from the Centre Court crowd.

The seven time Wimbledon Championc continues to feel that crowds are not offering the respect that he deserves, although there remains a real feeling that Novak Djokovic is just trying to fuel his motivation even further. Being given a Bye to the Quarter Final might feel like a bonus for Djokovic, who had come into the Wimbledon tournament with fitness doubts, and having three full days of recovery between matches within a Grand Slam tournament is a huge boost for his chances of matching Roger Federer's eight wins in SW19.

Things have not gone completely his way at Wimbledon, but Novak Djokovic's dominant win over Holger Rune in the Fourth Round suggests he is rounding into form. No one is going to question the grass court pedigree of the former World Number 1 and Novak Djokovic deserves to be a relatively strong favourite in this Semi Final.

However, the Serb is not going to take anything for granted against a player who has twice been one set away from beating him at a Grand Slam.

Both of those matches were at Roland Garros in 2021, when Lorenzo Musetti really announced himself to a wider audience while leading Novak Djokovic 2-0, and earlier this year when Musetti lost the first set, but won two in a row in the Third Round.

Novak Djokovic was able to turn both matches around and he will also note that those were played on clay, the favoured surface of Lorenzo Musetti.

Two previous hard court matches have both ended in favour of Djokovic with some relative comfort attached and even the slightly slower grass court of Centre Court is unlikely to change things too much. It is the first time Lorenzo Musetti will be playing on the main court of Wimbledon, although handling the occasion is something he has the temperament to do.

The bigger question is having the tennis to beat Novak Djokovic and that seems unlikely right now, even after an impressive win over Taylor Fritz in the Quarter Final.

There is just so much more solidness about Novak Djokovic's all around game compared with Fritz and that is likely to show up. The favourite has the better serving consisteny and Novak Djokovic is just as capable of exerting returning pressures like Lorenzo Musetti.

In their previous matches, there has been a clear edge in favour of Novak Djokovic when it comes to holding serve and he may just wear down the younger player and cover what is a big handicap mark all things considered.

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: The grass courts have frustrated Daniil Medvedev at times and he is still mostly in love with the hard courts, but his recent runs at Wimbledon may just have shown the World Number 5 how capable he is on this surface.

In reality Daniil Medvedev is a pretty solid player on all surfaces and it would be a real shame for him and his brand of tennis if he is not able to add to the US Open he won in 2021.

There is no doubt that he has had his chances- Daniil Medvedev should have won the very next Grand Slam at the Australian Open- and a consistent performer on the Tour has now reached the Semi Final in four of the last five Slams played. He was leading by two sets again in the Final at the Australian Open earlier this year before coming up short and so Daniil Medvedev may still feel he has something to prove.

That defeat came against Jannik Sinner, but it was Medvedev who beat the Italian in the Quarter Final here, although the challenges do not get any easier.

Next up is the defending Champion and Carlos Alcaraz continues to show that he can battle through difficult moments on his way to his successes. Winning the French Open-Wimbledon double has proven to be a huge challenge throughout the years, but Carlos Alcaraz is playing with a real determination and will to win and this is a match up that will not concern him.

It has not been the most convincing of runs and the Spaniard has dropped one set in each of his last two wins, while needing to come through in five sets in the Third Round against Frances Tiafoe. The level did increase as he overwhelmed Queen's Champion Tommy Paul in the Quarter Final after a slow start and that kind of performance will give Carlos Alcaraz full belief that he can go on and win the title here again.

The serve is not working quite as well as it was twelve months ago and that will need to be improved if Carlos Alcaraz is going to defend his title. Each of his last three opponents have been able to fashion at least ten Break Points and giving up that many chances is always going to be dangerous, even if Carlos Alcaraz has the returning ability to make up for that.

He will know that a poor serving day could lead to problems, as it did when losing to Danill Medvedev at the US Open last year as the defending Champion.

In saying that, it is a match that has been the exception in recent meetings between Medvedev and Alcaraz and that gives the latter a significant mental edge.

Last year it was Carlos Alcaraz who beat Daniil Medvedev in pretty routine fashion in the Wimbledon Semi Final and he has also won two matches against this opponent since the US Open defeat. This means Alcaraz has won four of the last five against Daniil Medvedev and so the onus really is on the underdog to change things around.

He put in a lot to beat Jannik Sinner in the Quarter Final, although fatigue is not expected to be an issue with that match being played on Tuesday and this Semi Final taking place on a Friday.

Back in 2021, Daniil Medvedev did beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a big straight sets victory, but things have changed between the players since then. On that day, Medvedev broke the Alcaraz serve seven times, but he has managed to do that just six times combined in the next five matches played and this feels like a match that is very much going to be played on the Alcaraz racquet.

There is room for improvement for Carlos Alcaraz, but the comfort within this match up should help in encouraging that and he can win and cover over the course of this contest.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 19-20, - 6.62 Units (78 Units Staked, - 8.49% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 10 Picks 2023 (July 12th)

It has been another Grand Slam with a really tough second week for the Picks, but what can you do when you see players blow the opportunities that Jessica Pegula did in her Quarter Final.

She lost one more point than Marketa Vondrousova, but Pegula had a Break Point for a double break lead in the deciding set and then failed to win another game as she lost five in a row to blow a 4-1 lead. There really is nothing I can say about that match, but you shrug your shoulders and move on and it has proved to be the kind of match to sum up the way the last few days have gone.

Not for the first time I have been on the wrong end of an incredibly tight match, but even now I think there is a chance to get things turned around. You can be frustrated when nonsense like that and the way Alexander Zverev lost to Matteo Berrettini happens, but ripping up everything would be foolish when the reality is that the matches could not have gotten much closer to winning without doing so.

The Pegula loss is also strengthening the case I continue to make for the top three WTA players to dominate the sport- the World Number 4 has never made a Grand Slam Semi Final and that is simply not good enough when people are advocating for the WTA players to be put into prime time spots.

Things will change if the top three are putting a clear gap between themselves and the rest and then you would expect to see Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina in those big positions to showcase their talents. They have won the last five Grand Slams between them since Ashleigh Barty retired after the Australian Open win in 2022 and this can only be good news for fans of the women's game rather than the feeling that some fortunate winners have managed to win Grand Slam titles in recent years.

I'll be honest and say I am in a pretty fed up mood with the Tennis Picks this week.

Twice on Day 9 we have seen players blow strong positions, while game margins are the biggest irritation- it should not be possible to win more games when you have won fewer points in a match, but it seems like there has been a curse on the selections with that happening over and over across the last three days.

What can you do? Not a lot, but you have to believe those margins will eventually swing back if it keeps happening, although it may be too late for this tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 games v Holger Rune: The Big Three have dominated men's tennis for two decades, but Roger Federer has retired and Rafael Nadal has likely accepted he has one more full season on the Tour in 2024 as he recovers from injury. For now Novak Djokovic remains the man to beat when it comes to the Grand Slam titles, but fans have to be excited about seeing the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner begin to reach the business end of tournaments.

Out of the three of those players, Carlos Alcaraz is seen as the natural successor to the Big Three and he has already won a maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open last year.

However, the Spaniard has been very quick to point out the qualities that Sinner and Rune possess and it is an exciting time to see the young talents maturing at the rate they have been.

Carlos Alcaraz will go into the Quarter Final as the favourite, but it is Holger Rune who has won their sole match in full Tour settings (Alcaraz beat Rune in the Nxt Gen Finals which are played with shortened sets).

The win at Queen's Club will have give Carlos Alcaraz a lot of confidence in playing on the grass courts, but Holger Rune has put together plenty of wins on the surface too and the character shown in his last two wins will really put him in a good place. Holger Rune will have to continue to serve well if he is going to upset the odds, while the familiarity between the two players should ease the nerves either may feel when they head to the court.

Out of the two players, Carlos Alcaraz has definitely shown a bit more feel when it comes to the return of serve and this is expected to be a difference maker on the day. His fellow Spaniards, Roberto Carballas Baena and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, created twenty-seven Break Points against the Holger Rune serve in their matches against him in this tournament and managed to convert seven times.

Converting Break Points has been something of an issue for Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, but he has created at least fourteen of those per match. The expectation is that Alcaraz will dominate the number of Break Points created within this Quarter Final and ultimately that is going to give him the edge in the match.

You have to like Holger Rune and the way he approaches his tennis- at one stage he was perhaps grating on the fans, but Rune seems to have gotten control of the more temperamental outbursts and he is expected to be a favourite in the years ahead. The performances on the grass courts in 2023 have to be respected, but Holger Rune was pretty well beaten by Alex De Minaur at Queen's Club and his return numbers have not been as impressive as his opponent's numbers in this Quarter Final.

Serving at his absolute best will keep this match competitive, but Holger Rune was a set and a break down against Grigor Dimitrov in the Fourth Round and Carlos Alcaraz is not expected to be as forgiving if he gets into that position.

Daniil Medvedev-Christoper Eubanks over 38.5 games: It was only last month that Christopher Eubanks felt grass was the 'stupidest surface' but winning a title in Mallorca has clearly given him some confidence.

Having been given advice by someone of the stature of Kim Clijsters, Christoper Eubanks has begun to fall in love with playing on the grass and the title win followed by his first ever Quarter Final place at a Grand Slam will be a huge boost to his career. The fans clearly have a lot of time for Christopher Eubanks too and he has been feeding off the energy from the stands as he has worked his way through the draw.

A win over the Wimbledon Semi Finalist of 2022 in Cameron Norrie shows Eubanks that he has the game to be successful on the grass, while his come from behind Fourth Round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas will underline the ability to beat the best players on the Tour. It was a match won on the tight margins against Tsitsipas, but Christoper Eubanks will have been given yet another boost as he prepares to face Daniil Medvedev in this Quarter Final.

His opponent has a lot more Grand Slam experience at this stage, but Daniil Medvedev is playing in his first Wimbledon Quarter Final as he has struggled with the consistency to play on the grass. There have been some big wins produced by the Russian and he has the levers and court coverage to make things very awkward for opponents, but this does have the makings of a match that Eubanks has to feel he can win.

Much is going to depend on how well Christopher Eubanks serves.

It has been a major weapon for him throughout his career, but the tactics in this match will also be important. We all know that Daniil Medvedev will stand extremely far back on the return, so Eubanks has to be thinking about getting into the net behind the big, booming serves and the American has been comfortable volleying over the last month.

If he can do that for long enough, Christoper Eubanks can cause Daniil Medvedev a lot of problems much like Marton Fucsovics did in the Third Round. The American has a bigger serve than Fucsovics so there is a blueprint that can lead to success, although Daniil Medvedev will be comfortable with his own tennis on the grass over the last month.

Daniil Medvedev serves big himself and he will know that Christoper Eubanks has a limited return game, which can be dominated. In the last Round, Eubanks only won 27% of return points played against Stefanos Tsitsipas and that means he has won 30% or fewer return points in three of the four matches won at Wimbledon.

Much will depend on the Medvedev mindset and how focused he can remain- it was Tsitsipas' undoing in the Fourth Round as he dropped a couple of silly games on his own serve when the match looked to be in control, but that is less likely to happen with Daniil Medvedev.

When they met at the Miami Masters, Daniil Medvedev was a comfortable straight sets winner in March, although the World Number 3 is much more comfortable on the hard courts compared with the grass courts. On that day Medvedev was able to break the Christoper Eubanks serve four times and there is a worry that all of the tennis that the latter has had to play in SW19 could catch up with him, especially if Medvedev can make enough returns of serve.

Sitting back and hoping for things to happen would be a mistake and it is hard to imagine those will be the tactics from Christopher Eubanks. Instead you have to believe he will look to be aggressive and that may be good enough to at least help push this match beyond the total games line set for the Quarter Final.

It would be expected that Daniil Medvedev will find a way to win the match, but he may drop just his second set at Wimbledon in 2023 and the two players can produce enough holds of serve to get this match over this line set.

Madison Keys-Aryna Sabalenka over 22.5 games: I genuinely feel like Madison Keys is one of the big underachievers on the WTA Tour and she is going to regret having not taken advantage of the gap that has been at the top of this side of the sport.

She reached a Quarter Final and two Semi Finals at the Grand Slam events in 2018, but has only made two Quarter Finals since then before her successful run at Wimbledon this year. Considering the game she has, it is an absolute surprise that Madison Keys is only playing in her second Quarter Final in SW19 having been defeated by Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015 and this the third time she has made the second week since that day.

Madison Keys has only won seven career titles, but one of those came in Eastbourne in the build to Wimbledon and she has played relatively well in this tournament. The come from behind win in the Fourth Round will have given the American a lot of confidence considering she has long been known as a strong front-runner, but perhaps not someone who can recover when things have begun to go against her.

The win in Eastbourne means three of her seven titles have been on the grass and Madison Keys has given Aryna Sabalenka plenty to think about in their two previous matches. In fact Keys won their only previous meeting on the grass, but she will be under pressure to serve well to keep the World Number 2 at bay.

Madison Keys has played at a consistent level in the tournament before dropping her standards in the Fourth Round win, but this is a big test against Aryna Sabalenka who has been in strong form all week. Even when Sabalenka has perhaps not felt at her best, she has been a solid winner in each of her four matches and the comfortable win over Ekaterina Alexandrova will make the Belarusian confident of seeing off this Quarter Final opponent.

Over the last couple of seasons, Aryna Sabalenka has become a consistent threat at the Grand Slam tournaments before breaking through at the Australian Open to win the title. She was a Semi Finalist at Wimbledon in 2021 before losing a tight match to Karolina Pliskova and it does feel like Aryna Sabalenka is playing at a level which will be tough to stop.

You would have to worry for Madison Keys if Aryna Sabalenka gets into a groove early- you will feel Keys' game pretty early in this match and it feels like the American is never that far from a capitulation.

However, if Madison Keys serves as she can, she has shown she can give Aryna Sabalenka plenty to think about even if the latter is much improved since these two last met two years ago in Berlin.

It does have the potential of being a big-serving match that may need three sets to decide the winner and we needed three sets when they met on the grass two years ago.

Elena Rybakina - 2.5 games v Ons Jabeur: The repeat of the Ladies Final from 2022 takes place in the Quarter Final in 2023 and there is every chance this is another match that may need three sets to decide the winner between Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur.

At the end of the Final Elena Rybakina looked a dominant winner, but the match was a close one and the eventual Champion had to save a lot of Break Points compared with Jabeur.

This suggests that it will not have taken a lot for the match to have swung the other way and the Quarter Final should be another close and competitive match.

Out of the two players, Elena Rybakina has been playing the stronger tennis at Wimbledon and looks to have ended any fears of her lingering illness from keeping her from her best. Her Fourth Round win was cut short, so Rybakina should be fully ready to go and her serve has been in monstrous form.

I expect Ons Jabeur to get a few more balls back into play compared with the other three opponents that Elena Rybakina has beaten in completed matches. Alize Cornet showed a player that can get the ball back and use a lot of solid defence and unconventional tennis could cause problems for Rybakina and I expect Ons Jabeur to employ similar tactics with the hope that she can take one or two more Break Points compared with the Final twelve months ago.

However, I also think Ons Jabeur's win over Petra Kvitova may have people believing in her a little too much in this Quarter Final- she had been very fortunate to beat Bianca Andreescu in the Third Round and Kvitova effectively threw away the Fourth Round match more than Ons Jabeur winning it.

Poor form ahead of the Wimbledon tournament is not very encouraging and Elena Rybakina has looked to have gotten her eye in on the return a lot quicker at this year's event compared with last season. The defending Champion did not return as well as she would have liked in the Final, but I expect better from her in this Quarter Final and I do think the serve is a major advantage for Elena Rybakina who has only been beaten once at Wimbledon before.

MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power

Daniil Medvedev-Christopher Eubanks Over 38.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Madison Keys-Aryna Sabalenka Over 22.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Elena Rybakina - 2.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 53-51, - 8.22 Units (208 Units Staked, - 3.95% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 11 Picks 2019 (July 12th)

I have been pretty underwhelmed with the way this Wimbledon has played out and it might have been one of the weaker Grand Slam events I can remember in some time.

We just haven't seen the kind of drama you would normally associate with the Slams and the two Ladies Semi Finals on Thursday continued the routine wins that players seem to be producing even at this late stage of the tournament.

Both Serena Williams and Simona Halep deserve their spot in the Final and I think the former is going to be a strong favourite to win the title. I will get onto the Ladies Final on Friday, but the main focus of this thread is the two Men's Semi Final matches to be played.


The big three who have dominated the Grand Slams over the last fifteen years have continued to do that at Wimbledon with all three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer making their way through to the Semi Final. None of them have really been tested and that should mean we are in for at least two fascinating matches before Wimbledon is all said and done as I don't foresee fitness issues cropping up.

The other player left in the tournament is Roberto Bautista Agut, but I am not sure it is going to be a straight-forward match for Novak Djokovic as most are expecting. The Spaniard has made comfortable progress through the draw so should have plenty in the tank to take it to the World Number 1, although most fans will be hoping these two don't wait too long to allow Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to take centre stage eleven years after they last met at Wimbledon.

I would be extremely disappointed if we don't get to see a much better match than their Semi Final at the French Open with the conditions making it easier for Federer to play the game he needs to beat Nadal. The latter has been in great form too though and I do hope for a match to light up a tournament that has been missing a spark since day one.


The Tennis Picks went 1-1 on Thursday with Serena Williams covering easily, but Elina Svitolina not able to keep things as competitive as I thought she might be able to do against Simona Halep.

Wimbledon remains in a very strong position for the Picks, but I do want to finish off the final four matches with a winning record to underline the solid returns from the tournament. You can see the updated record from Wimbledon below the Tennis Picks from the Men's Semi Finals.


Novak Djokovic win 3-1 v Roberto Bautista Agut: Most of the headlines at Wimbledon are focusing on the second of the Men's Semi Final matches to be played on Friday and you can't be surprised when Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are involved in that match.

Before they arrive on Centre Court, World Number 1 and defending Champion Novak Djokovic will be looking to book his return to the Final. He is a very big favourite when taking on Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut who is making his debut in a Grand Slam Semi Final rather than being out in Ibiza enjoying his Stag Party with his friends.

Everywhere I have turned to it sounds like most are expecting Novak Djokovic to dispose of the challenge from Roberto Bautista Agut without too many issues presenting themselves. The form of Djokovic certainly gives those experts reason to believe that, although Bautista Agut has been comfortable on the grass courts.

I completely understand the thinking that Djokovic does everything Bautista Agut does, but only better too, but the Spaniard has beaten the World Number 1 in both of their meetings in the 2019 season. I don't think that is something that can be thrown away without given a real factor into how this match could go. Those two matches in the 2018 season have been very close with little between them and both have needed to go the full distance to determine a winner.

The numbers are similar from those matches with Bautista Agut winning 64% of points behind serve and holding 79% of his service games compared with Novak Djokovic who has won 63% of his service points while holding in 80% of his service games played. It certainly shows the Spaniard can at least stick with Djokovic even if it is a much tougher task beating him a best of five set situation.

Novak Djokovic has won all three of their previous Grand Slam matches, but Roberto Bautista Agut has taken a set in each of those and I definitely think there is a chance he can do that here.

We are going to need to see some strong serving from Bautista Agut to do that, but he has played well enough at Wimbledon and in the build up to the event to believe he can. In Halle he took a set from Roger Federer, and Bautista Agut has only dropped his serve four times in this tournament. I have little doubt Novak Djokovic is going to test that on his current form, but his opponent will have seen the success David Goffin was having against the World Number 1 and will likely look to follow the same blueprint.

I do have a concern that Bautista Agut's numbers at Wimbledon have declined in each passing Round, but he should have belief against this opponent with the wins he has had over Djokovic over the last seven months. Novak Djokovic is producing the steadier and stronger numbers than Bautista Agut, but this feels like a tougher match than many believe.

I did initially consider backing Bautista Agut with the start on the set handicap, but I think it would be a huge surprise if he can win two sets against Novak Djokovic in the form the defending Champion has been in. Roberto Bautista Agut does hold those two wins over Djokovic from earlier this season, but I think this could be the fourth Slam meeting between these two players that ends up being decided in four sets in favour of the Serb.

It is worth a small interest to back Djokovic to win this one in four sets at a big price.


Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer over 39.5 games: I can see why the layers have had so many difficulties separating these players and I really can make a big case for either Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the most anticipated match that is going to be played at Wimbledon 2019. As soon as the draw was completed there was a hope we would see two of the best players of all time meet at Wimbledon again for the first time since the 'greatest match' was played between the two in the 2008 Final.

On that day Rafael Nadal finally got the better of Roger Federer on the grass courts of Centre Court as he won 9-7 in the fifth set with the light disappearing at a rapid rate. It was the most memorable match I have seen these two play and the high drama of the rain delays and the fading light all contributed to an epic Final.

The hope is that the Semi Final can live up to those standards and the performances of Nadal and Federer in this tournament certainly suggest it can. This is a surface on which Federer can have the most joy from his aggressive game against Nadal, while recent meetings have seen the head to head closed after Roger Federer won five in a row against his old rival between January 2017 and June 2019 when the run was ended in Nadal's straight sets win over Federer on the clay of Roland Garros.

That is a surface that favours Nadal massively, but the grass is expected to even things up somewhat. Rafael Nadal may be leading the head to head 10-3 in Grand Slam matches, but that become 4-3 in favour of the Spaniard when you remove their six previous matches at Roland Garros.

In their three previous matches at Wimbledon, Roger Federer has had the very slight edge when it comes to the serving over Rafael Nadal, but the last of those matches was a long time ago. They do tend to be closely matched on matches outside of the clay courts and only one of their seven Grand Slam matches on the hard courts or grass courts have ended in straight sets. Four of those have needed five sets including two of the three played at Wimbledon and this really feels like a match in which the person imposing their style the best is going to win.

Rafael Nadal will look to attack the Roger Federer backhand relentlessly until it breaks down, while Roger Federer will be aggressive and look for heavy forehands, big serves and then an ability to put balls away at the net to try and edge this match in his favour. Both have been serving and returning very impressively at SW19, but I have to give Nadal the narrow edge considering the level of opponent he has faced compared with Federer.

Gun to the head I would back the Spaniard to find a way to get this done, but opposing Roger Federer as the underdog on a grass court has not been a very profitable angle to take. He has upset both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic as an underdog in this tournament in the past, and Federer will believe his game plan in Paris will be much more effective on this court, even if it has not played as quickly as past years.

The edge is with Rafael Nadal when it comes to the returning being produced at Wimbledon in the 2019 tournament, but I would be extremely disappointed if this match finishes in straight sets. Matches between these two legends have gone very deep when they have met off the clay courts and even their first ever best of five set match at the Miami Masters in 2005 needed the full complement of sets to determine a winner.

In this case even a four set match should give the players every chance to cover the total games line being set in this Semi Final. This may be the last time Roger Federer faces Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon and I don't think either player goes away quietly in the contest and the layers may just be correct in anticipating a tight match that could easily go all the way to a fifth set.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic Win 3-1 @ 3.80 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
Rafael Nadal- Roger Federer Over 39.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 54-39, + 22.64 Units (186 Units Staked, + 12.17% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 9 Picks 2017 (July 12th)

It sounds like a lot of the top women's players were really unhappy with the scheduling for their matches on 'Manic Monday' with some of the very best players on the WTA Tour being pushed out from the top two show courts at Wimbledon.

That has led to criticism for the organisers who have used the two men, one ladies formula for Centre and Court One for as long as I can remember.

I can understand the criticism because I thought there were some terrific ladies Fourth Round matches on Manic Monday, but I think the matter comes down to a very simple reason from the organisers. If you're paying for a ticket on Centre Court then you absolutely want to see the 'big four' men's players who have been the leading lights of the tennis world for some time and so it is hard to shift one of those players for another ladies match.

Value for money is so important when you're actually paying money to go and see these events and I've been to the last two Manic Monday's on Centre Court and would have been disappointed if I hadn't seen Andy Murray, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic on those days. Of course I was delighted to have Serena Williams on court too, but I would not have been happy if only getting to see one of those three men's players mentioned.

Being a best of five in the men's also means I do get to see quite a bit of tennis for my money and ultimately the best of three format could fly by very quickly. That's not to say I don't see one-sided men's matches, but it feels you are getting the value for money with a day of tennis rather than the potential for seeing two matches whizz by.

Maybe it is time for the Wimbledon organisers to break with tradition and introduce an evening session for the two main show courts like the US Open and Australian Open. Or they can put on a fourth match on the main show courts by getting an earlier start than the 1pm which has been the opening time of the big two courts which is an hour and half later than the other courts begin.

It sounds like there is some planning going on behind the scenes which may come into affect in the next couple of years once the roof on Court One has also been completed, but there are options for Wimbledon going forward.

And while you hear about equal prize money, equal standing, you never hear about equal playing time unless it is about the men going down to a best of three set format for the Slams, which would be a terrible move in my mind.


On Wednesday there looks to be an improvement in the weather conditions which should mean that all of the matches are going to be played outdoors as intended at the tournament. The men's Quarter Finals take the limelight on Wednesday and it looks a decent day of tennis, although perhaps not as strong a line up as it could have been.

I've got two full picks and the other two added to the list below.


Andy Murray - 5.5 games v Sam Querrey: Expect to hear that Sam Querrey beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2016 at least fifty times during the transmission of this Quarter Final match between the big serving American and home favourite Andy Murray. It's the kind of statement that will make the casual fans think this is a real test for Murray, but the other factors going into the match are probably not going to be mentioned as much.

The nature of Sam Querrey matches means they are never going to be the long, drawn out physical battles, but the emotion of winning back to back five set matches is certainly going to take have emptied some of the tank. The other factor is that Querrey has a poor 4-27 record when playing top five players and that becomes 1-7 in Grand Slam matches.

The win over Djokovic may just have been the perfect time for Querrey with the former World Number 1 coming off the French Open success at Roland Garros prior to that Wimbledon. It has also been the start of Djokovic's decline from the standard he was setting on the Tour and Querrey just might have been in the right place at the right time on that occasion.

Generally he has struggled against the top players because Querrey's serve can be blunted at points and he is not likely to out-rally many of the best with a limited backhand. It's all about the first two or three shots for Querrey and after that I think he becomes a significant underdog to win the point.

Someone like Murray will feel he can get enough balls back in play even if Querrey is serving close to his best on the court. Some games will get away from the World Number 1 with Querrey capable of dishing out some huge serves, but Murray's return game is good enough to put the American under immense pressure through the course of this match.

Murray has a 10-0 record against tall players at Wimbledon (those over 6 foot 4) and he has broken plenty of times in those matches with his returning stats highlighting that. With Querrey's numbers against top five players in Grand Slam events, you do have to favour Murray to win and win well.

Opposing the Querrey serve can be dangerous if the American finds his rhythm, but Murray has beaten twice before without dropping a set and I think he is capable of doing the same here. I will back Murray to cover the games in case a tie-breaker goes against him, but I think he will get through 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.


Marin Cilic - 4.5 games v Gilles Muller: Monday may have been the best moment in the career of Gilles Muller after outlasting Rafael Nadal in an epic five set match at Wimbledon. This is just the second time he has reached the Quarter Final of a Grand Slam event and the first since 2008 at the US Open, while Muller had never previously been beyond the Third Round here at Wimbledon.

Having a day off between matches will help, but Muller has to have left something on the court after that win over Nadal. It is the second time he has had to go five sets in The Championships, and both times he has needed at least sixteen games before working his way through to the next Round.

The nature of the match against Nadal meant points were not really, really long, but anyone who has spent almost five hours on the court is going to feel some fatigue. Adding that to the five setter earlier in the tournament and Muller is going to be feeling it, although the big lefty serve gives him a chance to ease through some games.

I say some games because his opponent Marin Cilic is returning very effectively at the moment and has the levers to make returns from awkward spots around the court. The serve-volley isn't a bad play against the Croatian, but Cilic's aggressiveness on the return has been well backed by really strong serving which is going to put a lot of pressure on Muller in this Quarter Final.

We saw how well Cilic can return against Muller at Queens when he won 36% of the points against the serve and created 13 break points. Converting only 2 is a concern for Cilic backers, but I think the latter is playing really well at the moment and he does play well when facing the taller players on Tour.

The return of the two players should ultimately be the key. I would have favoured Cilic over a fresh Muller, but the additional factor of the fatigue is in play and I like Cilic to win this one with relative comfort. He could potentially drop a tie-breaker if Muller still has some energy left, but at the end of it I would think Cilic can earn three or four breaks of serve to help him move into the Semi Final with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win.

MY PICKS: Andy Murray - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
Marin Cilic - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Roger Federer - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 Sporting Bet (2 Units)
Novak Djokovic - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Wimbledon Day 13 Picks 2015: Men's Final Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer (July 12th)

I always find it a little strange when Wimbledon comes to a close as three of the four Grand Slams in the tennis season are completed and there is certainly a prolonged period following this event that we won't see the biggest players out on the Tour. This year the Davis Cup is played at the end of next week before a number of European clay court events are held heading towards the back end of July/early August when the US hard court swing begins.

However, the majority of the big names probably won't be back on the court until the Canadian Masters which is scheduled for the second week of August as their month long bid to become the US Open Champion will begin from that point. It is Cincinnati which follows the Canadian Masters and then a two week break until the US Open begins on the 31st August, which is later than it has in recent years.


At the moment, the biggest story going into the US Open is Serena Williams trying to complete the Calendar Grand Slam, the first player to do that since 1988 and only the fourth female player to manage the feat. It is hard to imaging the American paying public to be focusing on anything else heading into the final Slam of the season and I imagine Serena Williams is going to be on every front page in the States at that time.

Williams has the chance to do that having added the Wimbledon title to the other three Slams she is currently holding after beating Garbine Muguruza in straight sets on Saturday. It was another dominant performance from Serena Williams for the most part and showed once again she is head and shoulders above the rest of the WTA Tour, something that will be highlighted by her points differential in the Rankings on Monday.

There is no doubt in my mind that Serena Williams has the talent and motivation to surpass Steffi Graf and Margaret Court for most Grand Slam titles won by a female player. Very few players can live with Serena Williams at her best and her Seeding means it would take a gigantic shock for someone to knock her out early in the week when she is expected to be at her most vulnerable. Just a quick look through the names in the WTA top forty players and I wouldn't be confident of any of those beating Williams straight up, although a couple could certainly have half a chance if the American is not at her best.


Garbine Muguruza has nothing to be embarrassed about- she showed tremendous heart and character, as well as supreme talent, to fight back against Serena Williams in the second set and I think she will really grow from the experience of this Final. Nothing I saw lessened my belief that Muguruza is destined for the top of the women's game and becoming a multiple Grand Slam Champion and I think she is confident enough to recover from this loss in a much more productive manner than others might.

There are still areas Muguruza can improve, but she cracked the top 10 in the World Rankings and I think she will be a feature at the business end of Grand Slam tournaments in the years to come. She remains the player I am most intrigued by as she looks to fulfil considerable potential and I hope Muguruza uses this experience to propel her to where I think her game can take her.


Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer: After watching the way the Semi Finals unfolded, I think the superlatives that were used to praise Roger Federer in his win over Andy Murray couldn't quite capture how impressive he was. That was easily the best I have seen Federer play in 2015, even better than his straight sets win over Novak Djokovic in Dubai, and now he looks for his eighth title at Wimbledon and his 18th Grand Slam.

On the performance offered on Friday, it is no surprise to me that Federer has been set at a shorter price than twelve months ago when he played Djokovic in the Wimbledon Final. It wasn't enough for the layers to change their minds when it comes to setting the favourite, but I know there has been a lot of support for Federer in the outright market.

In all honesty, Federer has been the far superior player during the course of the tournament as he has dropped just one set. His serving had looked incredible going into the Semi Final as he had dropped serve just once, but Federer looked even better against Andy Murray who has to be the second best returner on Tour behind Novak Djokovic.

That didn't help Murray on Friday as he earned just one break point, failing to convert that in the first game and barely threatened the Federer serve for the rest of the match. He won just 23% of points against the Federer serve which is incredible and the Swiss man will win this Final if he can continue to hit the lines with the regularity he has shown in the tournament.

However, I still believe Novak Djokovic is going to get plenty more balls back in play than Murray and I do think he has been comfortable, if not exceptional for all but the Kevin Anderson match. Djokovic has been serving well and even the left shoulder issue in the Semi Final looks to be one of precaution than any serious injury he has picked up.

Unlike Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic has been getting the better of Federer in recent meetings more often than not and he will have good memories of beating the Swiss man here last year. I do think Djokovic does struggle to deal with the occasion at times which might seem a strange statement on first viewing.

But look at the results- Djokovic is just 4-6 in his 10 Grand Slam Finals since the beginning of the 2012 season and even the win over Roger Federer last year at Wimbledon was after Djokovic choked away a fourth set lead when it seemed the match was going his way.

As good as Novak Djokovic is, he doesn't have a go-to shot when under pressure and is very good at everything but not exceptional at anything. His movement is superior to Federer's but the it is the aggression of the latter that will push the tempo in this one, especially if he continues to serve as effectively as he has through the grass court season. However, I can't shake the feeling that Novak Djokovic has been doing just enough to get through and has another level in his pocket as he looks to erase the painful memory of losing at the French Open.

His performances in the biggest matches has to be a concern with Federer playing at an extremely high level, but Djokovic has beaten him in 5 of their last 7 Grand Slam matches. I expect the Serb will drag Federer into deeper waters and that should see his superior fitness come into play and I am looking for Novak Djokovic to defend his first Grand Slam title outside of Australia.

My heart would love to see Roger Federer win another Grand Slam, but my head says Novak Djokovic is going to be a little too strong. I fear Federer may have peaked just one match too early and the World Number 1 underlines his position at the top of the World Rankings with a four set win in a high quality match.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 25-25, - 3.53 Units (99 Units Staked, - 3.57% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2014 (June 12th)

That was as bad a day as I have suffered during this entire 2014 season as nothing seemed to go as planned and I am going to blame my headache from Tuesday as the reason for the terrible picks I made.

On a more serious note, both Andy Murray and Nicolas Mahut should have won their matches with enough comfort to cover the handicaps that had been set, but both missed plenty of chances and the latter couldn't win the match at 3-0 up in the final set tie-breaker before losing it 7-5.

Some of the picks just plain stunk and I will only have myself to blame for those and not bad luck- simply put, some picks didn't have a chance and that was down to poor research on my part.

Hopefully that isn't something that happens too often, but I have always taken the ups and downs and tried to treat them the same- it is an eleven month season, there will be times when it doesn't go well, but also times when it does and you have to keep level-headed and try and get more of the latter days than the ones we saw on Wednesday.


With the World Cup starting on Thursday, I am guessing tennis will be losing the back pages of the newspapers for the next few weeks, even with Wimbledon starting especially in England where they were dominated with 'hope' of a new British Champion. Now Andy Murray has won that tournament, I can only see a few headlines being kept aside for that event unless England have a terrible Group.

On the other hand, I will be making picks through the next month as I have been for the season and am just hoping for a much more productive performance than I found on Wednesday.

The Third Round is going to be underway at Queens and Birmingham on Thursday and Halle will see the Quarter Final line up completed.


Feliciano Lopez - 3.5 games v Kenny de Schepper: There is no doubt that Kenny de Schepper has a big serve that aids him mightily on the grass courts, but I can't help feel he is also being a little over-rated because of the win he had over Ernests Gulbis on Wednesday.

On paper, that does look an impressive win- but Gulbis was coming off a long two weeks at Roland Garros and has shown little grass court appetite in the past so perhaps it wasn't as big a surprise as initially it seems.

The Frenchman also got to this stage at Queens last season, but he is now coming up against Feliciano Lopez who is very comfortable on the grass courts himself and had an impressive straight sets win over Lleyton Hewitt in the Second Round.

Lopez is very confident on the grass and his slice will pose de Schepper some problems with the big man having to get lower than he may wish to get hold of that ball. It can be tough to do that consistently, while he might not have too much joy against the Lopez serve either if the Spaniard is going anything close to what he was on Wednesday.

Last season, de Schepper took some comfortable losses on the grass courts despite the confidence he must have earned from the wins he had and I can Lopez finding a way to a 76, 63 win in this one.


Tomas Berdych - 4.5 games v Adrian Mannarino: Tomas Berdych didn't always look that convincing in his Second Round win over James Duckworth and I am not sure that his run to the Final at Wimbledon in 2010 is going to be repeated any time soon.

However, he should have too much in the locker for Adrian Mannarino despite the latter having some of his better results on the Tour on grass, including beating Juan Martin Del Potro here three years ago. He also reached the Fourth Round at Wimbledon last year which is a surprise considering the serve he possesses not being a real weapon to earn the cheap points.

Mannarino works hard on the court and clearly can play aggressively enough to come through matches and he has been an easy winner in the first two Rounds here. Of course, Tomas Berdych is another step up in class from what the Frenchman has seen so far and I think the first match on grass gives the Czech man something to build upon.

He will have to play a lot better than on Tuesday, but Berdych should have enough to come through 75, 63.


Grigor Dimitrov - 3.5 games v Edouard Roger-Vasselin: Somehow, from the edge of defeat, Edouard Roger-Vasselin dug deep to beat Nicolas Mahut on Wednesday, but it will be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank as he gets set to take on Grigor Dimitrov in the Third Round.

It has been an impressive week considering Roger-Vasselin was playing in the French Open men's Doubles Final this past weekend although he has needed three sets in his first two wins at Queens. That means he has a lot of tennis in his legs coming into this match and I can see Dimitrov exposing any fatigue that may be beginning to set in.

Roger-Vasselin has played the big points well this week, but Dimitrov has a decent serve (when he isn't throwing in the double faults that were a feature in his first match) and good, solid groundstrokes that should give him the edge in the match.

I do think Dimitrov is in line for a big week and I think he will come through with a 64, 64 win.


Andy Murray - 4.5 games v Radek Stepanek: It was a 64, 64 scoreline, but Andy Murray was far more comfortable than that would indicate in his Second Round win on Wednesday and I think he will only build on that.

That isn't underestimating Radek Stepanek who is very comfortable on the grass courts with the ability to serve-volley and use plenty of variation to make life difficult for his opponents.

However, Murray doesn't mind those fun and games on the court and I think he will use that to his advantage. He will be happy trading the slices and drop shots through the match and I expect Murray to feel very confident on the court and not be worried by the antics of Stepanek.

Murray has dominated the head to head and will know what to expect from Stepanek as he moves into the Quarter Final with a 63, 64 win.


Kevin Anderson - 3.5 games v Sergiy Stakhovsky: Sergiy Stakhovsky will be able to dine out in his win over Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013 for a few years, but I also feel that the layers are taking no chances on him because of that one victory on the grass courts.

Stakhovsky is in line to have the most wins in a single season since 2011, but it has to be said that his recent form doesn't come close to matching the Semi Final appearance he had at Sydney back in January. This is only the second time that Stakhovsky has won two matches in a row since then and while he will cause some problems, I would imagine Kevin Anderson being too good for him.

The big South African has a decent grass court pedigree and is a former Quarter Finalist here, although he did need Stakhovsky to retire from a match he was dominating that year to find his way through that Round. However, Anderson is much improved since 2012 and just seems to be a little more confident in his own game since then.

There will likely only be a few points here and there that decides the outcome of this match, but Anderson might find the edge in a 76, 63 win.


Stan Wawrinka - 2.5 games v Sam Querrey: Some of the matches that Stan Wawrinka has played on the grass courts suggests he should have had more success on the surface- that was shown in reaching the Final at Hertogenbosch last season, but following that up with a First Round exit at Wimbledon.

This is essentially the first grass court match he will really have played this season after having just five games against Marcos Baghdatis before the latter retired. Wawrinka will now face a Sam Querrey that has struggled for much of 2014, but has won back to back matches on the main Tour for only the third time this calendar year.

The American is a former winner at Queens, but he was fortunate to come through the First Round against Jeremy Chardy and then beat an overmatched Denis Kudla. This match is raising the level again and Stan Wawrinka should be able to come through, albeit in three sets.

Wawrinka has been a little up and down since winning the Australian Open, but he is looking to bounce back from an early loss at the French Open and I do think he will be too good as long as he doesn't lose confidence early in the match.


Sloane Stephens - 2.5 games v Alison Riske: Sloane Stephens showed what she can do on a grass court with a comfortable win over Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday and I think she can back that up with victory over her compatriot Alison Riske in this Third Round match.

It won't be easy though as Riske has shown plenty of potential on the grass courts over the last few years, including reaching the Semi Final here in Birmingham after qualifying twelve months ago.

However, Stephens was a Quarter Finalist at Wimbledon last season and her power can give her a real edge on the quicker courts, especially one as low bouncing as the grass courts where the ball also tends to skid through the court.

Stephens' focus and concentration can let her down in some of the 'smaller' events on the Tour, but if she can stay tuned into this match, I would expect her to come through 64, 64.


Ana Ivanovic - 5.5 games v Lauren Davis: It was an impressive win for Ana Ivanovic in the Second Round when she crushed Mona Barthel in two sets and I would expect the Serb to back that up with another convincing win over Lauren Davis.

They met earlier this season in a match where Davis won just two games, and the young American has plenty of tennis played already this week with back to back three set wins. Her serve is vulnerable and I can see the aggression of Ivanovic making the difference in the match, especially if the latter is playing as well as she was against Barthel.

There is still some inconsistencies about Ivanovic which is frustrating when backing her to win matches with spreads as big as this, but I also think she is playing some of her better tennis for a couple of years during 2014.

I would hope Ivanovic serves well if she is going to win the match, but I also think she will have a few chances to break Lauren Davis and come through 63, 63.

MY PICKS: Feliciano Lopez - 3.5 Games @ 2.25 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Tomas Berdych - 4.5 Games @ 1.90 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Grigor Dimitrov - 3.5 Games @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Andy Murray - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Kevin Anderson - 3.5 Games @ 2.18 Unibet (2 Units)
Stan Wawrinka - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Sloane Stephens - 2.5 Games @ 1.92 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Ana Ivanovic - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 5-9, - 8.28 Units (28 Units Staked, - 29.57% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2013 (July 12th)

Another very positive day is in the bag after the picks went 4-0 on Thursday and now we have the Quarter Finals in Stuttgart and Bastad, while that same Round is completed in Newport. All three outright picks are still in their respective draws, although all have tough routes to win the tournaments.

Here are my picks from Friday's Quarter Finals at the various tournaments.


Fernando Verdasco v Nicolas Almagro: Out of the two of these players, you would have to say the recent form favours the lower Ranked Fernando Verdasco to reach the Semi Final.

However, Nicolas Almagro will also feel confident having enjoyed recent success at the tournament in Bastad and fresh of a decent come from behind win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the Second Round.

Both players will have their supporters, but Fernando Verdasco has looked the better player this week and he will believe he has the upper hand in this one as he has a 5-2 head to head record against Almagro on the clay courts.

Many of the Spanish players seem to be a little overawed when they play Verdasco (unless their name is Rafael Nadal) and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that this is one player that can take the racquet out of their hands with his heavy groundstrokes.

If Almagro is as loose with his shots as he was in his win on Thursday, you would think Verdasco will have a few chances to break serve and I think the underdog in this contest has to be worth backing on recent form.


Tommy Haas - 3.5 games v Fabio Fognini: After the first set, it seemed that Tommy Haas was going to waltz through to the Quarter Final on Thursday, but it turned out to be a tough three set battle for the German Number 1 seed.

He faces Fabio Fognini, a player that looks set to have his best season on the Tour. For a long time, Fognini has shown flashes of ability,but inconsistency blighted his game. Now, Fognini has found ways to win matches and move his Ranking upwards and he has come through two Rounds here comfortably.

The problem for Fognini remains that his serve isn't the best and that means he has to work for every point he earns and it will be tough to do that against Haas in this one. On the other hand, the German is likely to be able to hold serve in a more comfortable manner with his first serve being the particularly dominant shot in this match.

While the clay courts are not the favourite surface that Haas enjoys, he has played well enough on the dirt this season to think he will find a way to break serve one more time than Fognini in each set to come through 64, 64.


Gael Monfils - 3.5 games v Philipp Kohlschreiber: Gael Monfils admitted that he started fairly nervously in his match against Florian Mayer in the Second Round, but he felt much better about his game by the time the match was concluded. He should be able to bring that confidence in against a player that he has beaten five times in a row and has won eight of nine previous matches against.

Monfils was serving pretty effectively by the time the match with Mayer was concluded, but Philipp Kohlschreiber is also capable of serving very effectively and a high percentage of first serves would make it tough for Monfils.

This could be a match that is decided by small margins, but Monfils has shown some decent form in the last couple of months after a tough 2013 that has been disrupted by injuries. I think the extra day off between matches would have helped Monfils keep his fitness in check for this match and I like him to come through in a tough battle, possibly 76, 63.


John Isner - 2.5 games v Ivo Karlovic: I really thought the injury suffered by John Isner at Wimbledon would have kept him off the Tour for at least a month, but he has been back in action in Newport and has played well so far to move through to the Quarter Final.

While Isner looked liked he had suffered a bad injury, Ivo Karlovic is back on the Tour after a period out suffering a meningitis viral infection and he has admitted that the week so far has taken its toll on his fitness.

Nothing can make up for playing matches and while Karlovic feels he has been given a new lease on his tennis career, it will take a little bit of time to get back to the fitness required to play a number of matches in a short space of time. The day off yesterday would have helped, but the big serving Croatian has not been at his dominant best behind serve this week.

That could cause problems at some point in this one and I expect scoreboard pressure to tell as John Isner is able to get away in a second set following a tight first set. I think the two time defending Champion at Newport comes through 76, 63.


Lleyton Hewitt - 4.5 games v Jan Hernych: Lleyton Hewitt hasn't been as dominant as his two wins this week suggest, but I still think the Australian will be a little too strong for Jan Hernych in the final Quarter Final at Newport.

Hernych is not someone to take lightly considering this is his second Quarter Final on the grass courts this season, but he was a little fortunate to come through the last Round here and he isn't serving as effectively as he could.

I think Hewitt, who is one of the better returners the Tour has seen, will be able to get involved in the Czech player's service games and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more breaks of serve than is usual on the grass courts.

I believe that Hewitt should be able to come through comfortably enough if Hernych can't get a real command on his serve as he has failed to do in the last couple of matches and the Australian is the best returner he would have seen this week. After a few breaks of serve, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Hewitt make it through to the Semi Final with a 75, 63 win/


MY PICKS: Fernando Verdasco @ 2.20 Bet 365 (2 Units)
Tommy Haas - 3.5 Games @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Gael Monfils - 3.5 Games @ 2.05 Pinnacle (2 Units)
John Isner - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Lleyton Hewitt - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 12-2, + 18.24 Units (26 Units Staked, + 70.15% Yield)

Tennis Picks July 12th

I have held off making any picks at the start of the week as I wasn't sure of some of the players motivation and the fact that a few of the bigger names that have appeared may just have been focusing on the Olympics.

There have been some really surprising results already, while the number of players that have lost from winning positions have been higher than usual. I know there are a lot of people out there that can be sceptical when things like that happen, but tennis is such a momentum sport that a player can lose a number of points in a row, particularly those who just aren't as good as the top players and therefore don't have the consistency to regain momentum that is lost.

The tournaments at Newport and Stanford release their order of plays much later than the European tournaments so I will have a look at those during the day and see if there are any picks I want to make from those events.

The outright picks I have made has seen one player progress through to the Quarter Finals in Marin Cilic, one player yet to start his tournament in Juan Monaco, and one exiting in the form of Sam Querrey.


Fabio Fognini v Alexandr Dolgopolov: I am taking the underdog Italian to win this match, despite not being his biggest fan as he can mentally check out of matches when they are not going his way. However, Fabio Fognini has shown more commitment to the cause this season, even if results remain hit and miss.

Alexandr Dolgopolov has not been in a good run of form recently and you have to expect confidence will at least be a little low after losing 5 of his last 6 matches going back to Madrid.

The Ukrainian is actually the defending Champion here, but it does look like he is an uneasy favourite considering where his confidence is likely to be and that is why I think Fognini as the underdog has to be the call here.

They are 1-1 in the head to head against one another, but it was Fognini that won their only meeting on a clay court and he looks a live dog in this one.


Alessandro Giannessi v Daniel Gimeno-Traver: I am taking another Italian who is the dog in this match as I back Alessandro Giannessi to surprise Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Sweden.

Gimeno-Traver was almost handed the match by Mikhail Kukushkin in the last Round and I think the Spaniard is very fortunate to still be in the tournament. That was only the second win on the main tour on the clay courts for Gimeno-Traver from 8 matches played this season.

Giannessi has been playing the majority of his matches on the Challenger tour, but he has already won four matches here as he qualified for the event so the conditions should hold no fear for him. The young Italian has also won both matches against Gimeno-Traver in the past and he looks worth chancing to add to that here.


Lleyton Hewitt to win 2-1 v Dudi Sela: It is clear that Lleyton Hewitt is not the same player that previously won Grand Slam titles, but the desire is still there for him to improve his Ranking and get back into a position where he can qualify for some of the biggest events on the calender without needing a Wild Card as he has here.

Hewitt has remained on the grass in preparation for Wimbledon and his two wins in Newport are the first he has had on the Main Tour since the Australian Open back in January (granted that is mainly down to injuries, but he had lost all three matches he has played since returning at the French Open).

The match up against Dudi Sela does present Hewitt a real chance to get through to the Semi Final here as he has won all three matches against the Israeli. Sela is a similar kind of player that will look to grind out a win, just as Hewitt does, and he is playing well enough here to think he can at least win a set.

That is something Sela has done the last two times he has played Hewitt and I would not be surprised if this is another one that will go the distance. I just think the Australian will do enough to gut out a win and so taking this for a small interest looks the call.


Marina Erakovic v Urszula Radwanska: I am not entirely sure why Marina Erakovic is the underdog in this match, even if Urszula Radwanska has been playing some better tennis recently.

Erakovic actually beat Radwanska a couple of weeks ago in the First Round at Wimbledon in straight sets and she has had success here at Stanford in the past after reaching the Quarter Final last season, including beating Victoria Azarenka as a big underdog.

Radwanska has struggled to get into the limelight that is occupied by her big sister Agnieszka and she hasn't had a winning record on the Main Tour over the last five seasons. The Pole has struggled on the hard courts this season, although she did come through a tough examination in the First Round.

I just feel Erakovic does have the capabilities to be more consistent and hit through Radwanska in this match up and I am, as I said, a little surprised that the New Zealand player is the underdog. I'll have a small play on her getting through to another Quarter Final here.


MY PICKS: Fabio Fognini @ 2.05 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Alessandro Giannessi @ 2.25 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Lleyton Hewitt win 2-1 @ 4.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Marina Erakovic @ 2.10 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Tennis Picks July 12th

It was disappointing to see Gilles Simon lose out to Albert Montanes last night as that ended my outright interest in the Stuttgart tournament at the first hurdle and also saw the picks begin badly this week.

Hopefully, tomorrow brings a better reward so on to the Picks:


Double: Potito Starace vs Julian Reister and Igor Andreev vs Diego Junqueira: I am picking these two men as they have far more clay court experience, and play at a higher level on a consistent basis respectively.

Potito Starace's main body of good work comes on the clay courts and 85% of his wins in the last 4 seasons have been on clay courts. He has also won 74% of his matches on clay in that time and comes in off the back of Davis Cup success with Italy.

Reister has lost 10 of his last 11 matches on all surfaces, but does favour the clay. Unfortunately, the main tour looks a little too good for him at this time and he now plays a player that does the majority of his damage on this surface.

Igor Andreev has never really fulfilled the potential he clearly has, but the majority of his success remains on the clay courts. He might not have had to go through 3 Rounds of Qualifiers as his opponent has, and that is a slight concern as he has not played since the first week of Wimbledon.

In saying that, Diego Junqueira has not won on the main tour in 2 years and has been mainly playing on the Challenger tour. While he has grown up on the clay, I expect Andreev will be too strong.


Nikolay Davydenko - 4.5 games vs Cedrik-Marcel Stebe: This looks a mismatch on paper, but Nikolay Davydenko is not the player of 18 months ago and faces a young hungry German player here.

Davydenko has won in Munich already this season, but comes in to the match in poor form and will need to pick his game up early. However, Stebe has not played an opponent like Davydenko, a player that can out hustle and grind down the best of opponents.

I just think Davydenko will eventually be too consistent for the novice and pull away for a 2 set win.


Jeremy Chardy vs Tobias Kamke: I should have learnt my lesson in backing short priced French players after Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon have let me down in the last few days, but I am going to the well again, mainly because I want to oppose Kamke.

Kamke will have been travelling back from the United States after reaching a Semi Final on the grass of Newport so it could be an adjustment for him mentally in this game.

Add to these factors the issue of Kamke struggling on clay so far in his career, and the pendulum swings towards Chardy here.

Chardy himself has struggled a little bit on the slower surface in his last 2 seasons, but has previously found success on the clay courts.

As I said, I am not the biggest fan of short priced French players, but the odds are just tempting enough on this occasion.


MY PICKS: Potito Starace and Igor Andreev Double @ 1.82 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Nikolay Davydenko - 4.5 games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Jeremy Chardy @ 1.61 Stan James (2 Units)


WEEKLY UPDATE: - 2 Units