It looks the only winner in the next few days in Austria is going to be the weather with consistent rain expected to fall on every day through to next week.
That means we will see players pulling out, especially the higher seeds that will be in Montreal for the Masters Event that starts on Monday, and so it makes it a minefield to make picks in.
With no connections on a personal level with the players out there, it is hard to second guess which ones will take this tournament seriously now and which ones are likely to call it a day.
In saying that, I won't be making any more picks after today where I still have 2 picks running from yesterday. Best of luck if any of you guys give this tournament a go for the rest of the week.
MY PICKS: Robin Haase @ 2.63 BetFred (1 Unit) Still Running from yesterday, 1-1 in sets and 1-1 in the 3rd set
Pablo Andujar @ 1.75 Unibet (2 Units)
WEEKLY UPDATE: + 0.66 Units
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Showing posts with label Pablo Andujar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pablo Andujar. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Tennis Picks August 3rd ATP Kitzbuhel
It has been a slow start to the week, especially over in Austria, as the early rounds have proven to be tougher to predict in recent tournaments. Now we have reached Day 3, I am hoping that more value can be found from the bookmakers:
Pablo Andujar vs Albert Ramos: This is a battle between two Spanish players and I will be backing the higher ranked Pablo Andujar to come through, although it may be closer than expected.
Andujar has been plying his trade at the main tour level this season, a contrast to his opponent today, and he has won in Casablanca and also reached the Final in Stuttgart.
I do get a little put off when seeing a defeat to Mathias Bachinger from last week in Gstaad, but Albert Ramos has generally come up short when playing the better players on the tour.
Andujar is a clay court specialist and also holds a 2-1 head to head record against Ramos, winning their last match just under a year ago in Geneva.
Robin Haase vs Feliciano Lopez: Robin Haase's career has been hit by injuries and this season has been no different for the Dutchman, but I still think he has a genuine chance of upsetting the odds against Feliciano Lopez, a Spaniard whose worst surface is arguably the clay courts.
Robin Haase played some decent stuff against Marin Cilic last week in Umag, but he is still inconsistent and seems to go wondering off mentally in matches.
However, Haase has a big serve and decent groundies for the most part and I expect he can make life tough for Lopez.
Feliciano Lopez has been in good form since Wimbledon, helping Spain win their Davis Cup tie in America and also winning a Challenger on the clay in Colombia. Last week he reached the Quarter Final before being ousted by Nicolas Almagro, but his serve-volley style is not always suited to the clay courts.
The altitude should help both with their service games, but I am going for the underdog to pull the shock here.
MY PICKS: Pablo Andujar @ 1.75 Unibet (2 Units)
Robin Haase @ 2.63 BetFred (1 Unit)
WEEKLY UPDATE KITZBUHEL: + 0.66 Units
Pablo Andujar vs Albert Ramos: This is a battle between two Spanish players and I will be backing the higher ranked Pablo Andujar to come through, although it may be closer than expected.
Andujar has been plying his trade at the main tour level this season, a contrast to his opponent today, and he has won in Casablanca and also reached the Final in Stuttgart.
I do get a little put off when seeing a defeat to Mathias Bachinger from last week in Gstaad, but Albert Ramos has generally come up short when playing the better players on the tour.
Andujar is a clay court specialist and also holds a 2-1 head to head record against Ramos, winning their last match just under a year ago in Geneva.
Robin Haase vs Feliciano Lopez: Robin Haase's career has been hit by injuries and this season has been no different for the Dutchman, but I still think he has a genuine chance of upsetting the odds against Feliciano Lopez, a Spaniard whose worst surface is arguably the clay courts.
Robin Haase played some decent stuff against Marin Cilic last week in Umag, but he is still inconsistent and seems to go wondering off mentally in matches.
However, Haase has a big serve and decent groundies for the most part and I expect he can make life tough for Lopez.
Feliciano Lopez has been in good form since Wimbledon, helping Spain win their Davis Cup tie in America and also winning a Challenger on the clay in Colombia. Last week he reached the Quarter Final before being ousted by Nicolas Almagro, but his serve-volley style is not always suited to the clay courts.
The altitude should help both with their service games, but I am going for the underdog to pull the shock here.
MY PICKS: Pablo Andujar @ 1.75 Unibet (2 Units)
Robin Haase @ 2.63 BetFred (1 Unit)
WEEKLY UPDATE KITZBUHEL: + 0.66 Units
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Tennis Picks July 19th
I was hoping all the picks had been decided before I made any more for Tuesday, but unfortunately the rain arrived in Atlanta to curtail James Blake's momentum and it may just reinvigorate Ernests Gulbis in the match.
It was a much better start to the week than I had last week as I look to get back to picking winners- it has been a tough couple of weeks for me, but hopefully this week represents a turning point.
If the James Blake match is anything to go by, I might just be getting some luck back that seemingly deserted me recently. Blake was a set down and Gulbis was serving for the match and only 2 points from victory when Blake fought back for the break.
He then found himself 0-4 down in the tie break and I had all but accepted that this pick was going to falter, but Blake once again fought through adversity and won the set.
As I said, I felt the luck that had not been with me recently may just have returned when Blake saved 4 break points in the early part of set 3 before going on to get the break and the lead. Hopefully he can come out of the rain delay and finish the game off and book a match with John Isner in the next couple of days.
Now on to the July 19th Picks:
Marcel Granollers vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver: Marcel Granollers is one of these players that seems to play a lot better when you have picked against him, yet plays like a club player when you pick him to win, but I still feel there may be a spot of value on picking him to win this match.
Granollers has not really set the world alight this season, but his best stuff is usually played on the clay courts. He has had some solid wins over the likes of Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Troicki on clay this season, although both of those players have their own issues.
Daniel Gimeno-Traver has struggled on the main tour this season, winning just 5 of his 23 matches, and he is surprisingly been struggling on the clay, a surprise because the Spanish are generally pretty good on the red dirt.
Gimeno-Traver has lost to some really average players on clay this season, and his 2-2 head to head record with Granollers is a little misleading as he has lost his last 2 matches, both on clay, without winning a set.
Victor Crivoi vs Fabio Fognini: I dont really have a lot to say about this match except I am making the pick because I want to oppose Fabio Fognini has a short priced favourite.
Fognini was surprisingly beaten by Cedrik-Marcel Stebe last week in Stuttgart and the Italian has been a little bit hit and miss all season on the clay. He had a good run at the French Open, but has also lost to the likes of Federico Del Bonis and the aforementioned Stebe.
Victor Crivoi was forced to qualify here and then beat Guillermo Olaso in the 1st Round to reach this stage. That was his 1 and only win on the main tour this season, but Crivoi does play the majority of his tennis on clay courts.
He also has a 1-0 head to head record over Fognini- he beat the Italian on clay in Italy in 2009.
As a bigger priced underdog, Crivoi could be worth small stakes.
Double; Pablo Andujar vs Julien Benneteau and Gilles Simon vs Sergiy Stakhovsky: Both of these players I have picked have a couple of issues surrounding them, but they are playing opponents that have been struggling.
My doubts about Pablo Andujar come from the fact that he reached the Final in Stuttgart on Sunday and I am a little concerned that he may be short of energy for this week. However, he plays Julien Benneteau who is struggling on all surfaces in recent weeks and someone who lost to Andujar on the clay courts of Nice a few months ago.
Gilles Simon blew a big chance to go deep in the draw at Stuttgart last week when losing in 3 sets to Albert Montanes, but he should still have too much for Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukranian player has been struggling for form and has not really been able to put too many back to back wins together in recent weeks.
Simon has also won both previous meetings with Stakhovsky and I think he will do so again this time.
MY PICKS: James Blake @ 1.83 (2 Units) Still in running at time of writing with Blake leading 5-7, 7-6, 3-2 *15-0
Marcel Granollers @ 1.80 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Victor Crivoi @ 2.70 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Double; Pablo Andujar and Gilles Simon @ 2.10 Pinnacle (2 Units)
WEEKLY UPDATE: + 0.4 Units
It was a much better start to the week than I had last week as I look to get back to picking winners- it has been a tough couple of weeks for me, but hopefully this week represents a turning point.
If the James Blake match is anything to go by, I might just be getting some luck back that seemingly deserted me recently. Blake was a set down and Gulbis was serving for the match and only 2 points from victory when Blake fought back for the break.
He then found himself 0-4 down in the tie break and I had all but accepted that this pick was going to falter, but Blake once again fought through adversity and won the set.
As I said, I felt the luck that had not been with me recently may just have returned when Blake saved 4 break points in the early part of set 3 before going on to get the break and the lead. Hopefully he can come out of the rain delay and finish the game off and book a match with John Isner in the next couple of days.
Now on to the July 19th Picks:
Marcel Granollers vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver: Marcel Granollers is one of these players that seems to play a lot better when you have picked against him, yet plays like a club player when you pick him to win, but I still feel there may be a spot of value on picking him to win this match.
Granollers has not really set the world alight this season, but his best stuff is usually played on the clay courts. He has had some solid wins over the likes of Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Troicki on clay this season, although both of those players have their own issues.
Daniel Gimeno-Traver has struggled on the main tour this season, winning just 5 of his 23 matches, and he is surprisingly been struggling on the clay, a surprise because the Spanish are generally pretty good on the red dirt.
Gimeno-Traver has lost to some really average players on clay this season, and his 2-2 head to head record with Granollers is a little misleading as he has lost his last 2 matches, both on clay, without winning a set.
Victor Crivoi vs Fabio Fognini: I dont really have a lot to say about this match except I am making the pick because I want to oppose Fabio Fognini has a short priced favourite.
Fognini was surprisingly beaten by Cedrik-Marcel Stebe last week in Stuttgart and the Italian has been a little bit hit and miss all season on the clay. He had a good run at the French Open, but has also lost to the likes of Federico Del Bonis and the aforementioned Stebe.
Victor Crivoi was forced to qualify here and then beat Guillermo Olaso in the 1st Round to reach this stage. That was his 1 and only win on the main tour this season, but Crivoi does play the majority of his tennis on clay courts.
He also has a 1-0 head to head record over Fognini- he beat the Italian on clay in Italy in 2009.
As a bigger priced underdog, Crivoi could be worth small stakes.
Double; Pablo Andujar vs Julien Benneteau and Gilles Simon vs Sergiy Stakhovsky: Both of these players I have picked have a couple of issues surrounding them, but they are playing opponents that have been struggling.
My doubts about Pablo Andujar come from the fact that he reached the Final in Stuttgart on Sunday and I am a little concerned that he may be short of energy for this week. However, he plays Julien Benneteau who is struggling on all surfaces in recent weeks and someone who lost to Andujar on the clay courts of Nice a few months ago.
Gilles Simon blew a big chance to go deep in the draw at Stuttgart last week when losing in 3 sets to Albert Montanes, but he should still have too much for Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukranian player has been struggling for form and has not really been able to put too many back to back wins together in recent weeks.
Simon has also won both previous meetings with Stakhovsky and I think he will do so again this time.
MY PICKS: James Blake @ 1.83 (2 Units) Still in running at time of writing with Blake leading 5-7, 7-6, 3-2 *15-0
Marcel Granollers @ 1.80 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Victor Crivoi @ 2.70 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Double; Pablo Andujar and Gilles Simon @ 2.10 Pinnacle (2 Units)
WEEKLY UPDATE: + 0.4 Units
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
French Open Day 3 Picks
Day 2 was better for the single treble I had flagged up, which gives us the most minimal of profits going into Day 3.
The biggest news of Day 2 actually affected my staking plan for the tournament as Tomas Berdych was beaten by Stephane Robert. Berdych, who reached the Semi Final here last year, was cruising with a 2 set lead but then failed to follow through and was beaten in 5 sets.
It cant have made the Czech player feel much better knowing Robert had never won a 5 set match, never won at a Grand Slam and is currently ranked at Number 140 in the World.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer came through difficult looking 1st Round ties with the minimal of fuss, while the likes of Richard Gasquet, Mardy Fish, Gael Monfil, Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martin Del Potro all encountered few problems.
Hopefully the tournament will heat up as the week progresses as there are some cracking potential matches beginning to take shape.
Now on to the Day 3 picks:
Robin Soderling - 9.5 games vs Benjamin Becker: Over the last couple of years, Soderling has enjoyed some fine success at Roland Garros. This year he will be aided by the balls that move faster and conditions seem to suit him in Paris.
Add to the mixture that Becker has been off the tour for a few weeks and has not played a game on the red dirt this season and Soderling holds a 3-0 lead in the head to head record without losing a set, and the Swede has to be favoured.
The spread is big, but Soderling usually starts serving first and I imagine he may get off to a flyer with Becker being a little match rusty.
Santiago Giraldo vs Pablo Andujar: I am picking the underdog in this game for a couple of reasons. First off, Giraldo has beaten Andujar twice on this surface in their head to head, without losing a set, although both meetings were a few seasons ago and both took place in Giraldo's home country.
Giraldo has also picked up the better results of late on the red dirt, only being beaten by the likes of Rafa Nadal, Robin Soderling and Mardy Fish in recent tournaments, all top 10 players. Andujar had lost 4 in a row before beating Grigor Dimitrov and Julien Benneteau in Nice last week.
However, defeats to Paulo Lorenzi and Alejandro Falla are not such good results and I think Giraldo has the game to make his breakthrough in a Grand Slam after losing in 5 sets here and at Wimbledon last year.
Fernando Verdasco win 3-1 in sets vs Juan Monaco: This is one of the most intriguing match ups on the entire 1st Round in the Men's draw as Fernando Verdasco is having a poor season so far and plays against a man he has struggled against in the past.
Verdasco may not have had the kind of year we have come to expect after he reached the Australian Open Semi Final in 2009, but I have to admit he looked something close to his best in the first 2 sets against Robin Soderling in Rome a couple of weeks ago. He blew 3 match points in that game before losing in 3 sets, but has shown there is still some life in his tennis.
Monaco leads the head to head 7-2, winning 5 of their last 6 meetings, but the last 2 had extenuating circumstances and I can forgive Verdasco those defeats.
The balls are flying quicker through the courts and the conditions should give Verdasco the edge here. Mentally I can see him dropping 1 set in the contest, but I feel the Spaniard will come through in 4 sets against an opponent that he can outhit on a court with faster conditions as he did in Madrid 2 years ago.
My Picks: Robin Soderling - 9.5 games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (3 Units)
Santiago Giraldo win @ 2.05 Canbet (2 Units)
Fernando Verdasco win 3-1 @ 4.0 Bet365 (1 Unit)
French Open Record: + 0.04 Units
The biggest news of Day 2 actually affected my staking plan for the tournament as Tomas Berdych was beaten by Stephane Robert. Berdych, who reached the Semi Final here last year, was cruising with a 2 set lead but then failed to follow through and was beaten in 5 sets.
It cant have made the Czech player feel much better knowing Robert had never won a 5 set match, never won at a Grand Slam and is currently ranked at Number 140 in the World.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer came through difficult looking 1st Round ties with the minimal of fuss, while the likes of Richard Gasquet, Mardy Fish, Gael Monfil, Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martin Del Potro all encountered few problems.
Hopefully the tournament will heat up as the week progresses as there are some cracking potential matches beginning to take shape.
Now on to the Day 3 picks:
Robin Soderling - 9.5 games vs Benjamin Becker: Over the last couple of years, Soderling has enjoyed some fine success at Roland Garros. This year he will be aided by the balls that move faster and conditions seem to suit him in Paris.
Add to the mixture that Becker has been off the tour for a few weeks and has not played a game on the red dirt this season and Soderling holds a 3-0 lead in the head to head record without losing a set, and the Swede has to be favoured.
The spread is big, but Soderling usually starts serving first and I imagine he may get off to a flyer with Becker being a little match rusty.
Santiago Giraldo vs Pablo Andujar: I am picking the underdog in this game for a couple of reasons. First off, Giraldo has beaten Andujar twice on this surface in their head to head, without losing a set, although both meetings were a few seasons ago and both took place in Giraldo's home country.
Giraldo has also picked up the better results of late on the red dirt, only being beaten by the likes of Rafa Nadal, Robin Soderling and Mardy Fish in recent tournaments, all top 10 players. Andujar had lost 4 in a row before beating Grigor Dimitrov and Julien Benneteau in Nice last week.
However, defeats to Paulo Lorenzi and Alejandro Falla are not such good results and I think Giraldo has the game to make his breakthrough in a Grand Slam after losing in 5 sets here and at Wimbledon last year.
Fernando Verdasco win 3-1 in sets vs Juan Monaco: This is one of the most intriguing match ups on the entire 1st Round in the Men's draw as Fernando Verdasco is having a poor season so far and plays against a man he has struggled against in the past.
Verdasco may not have had the kind of year we have come to expect after he reached the Australian Open Semi Final in 2009, but I have to admit he looked something close to his best in the first 2 sets against Robin Soderling in Rome a couple of weeks ago. He blew 3 match points in that game before losing in 3 sets, but has shown there is still some life in his tennis.
Monaco leads the head to head 7-2, winning 5 of their last 6 meetings, but the last 2 had extenuating circumstances and I can forgive Verdasco those defeats.
The balls are flying quicker through the courts and the conditions should give Verdasco the edge here. Mentally I can see him dropping 1 set in the contest, but I feel the Spaniard will come through in 4 sets against an opponent that he can outhit on a court with faster conditions as he did in Madrid 2 years ago.
My Picks: Robin Soderling - 9.5 games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (3 Units)
Santiago Giraldo win @ 2.05 Canbet (2 Units)
Fernando Verdasco win 3-1 @ 4.0 Bet365 (1 Unit)
French Open Record: + 0.04 Units
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