South_African_Punter

Jennifer Brady to beat Maria Sharapova at 2.38 with Betway
Brady qualified for WTA Brisbrane with three comprehensive victories in the qualifiers. As we all know, Sharapova was ravaged by injury in 2019 and besides an exhibition match in late 2019 (which she won), there is no real indicator of her current form and I believe Brady is good enough to exploit her lack of match practice.

Thanks. Taken Kenin @ 20.0 and in the other half of the draw Svitolina @ 8.0

The weakness for France is in the singles. Paire and Simon cannot be relied on to perform well from one day to the next, and Monfils did pull out of an invitational event in December citing an injury. Also Pierre Herbert won't be pairing Mahut for the doubles for France.

Outright bet: Spain to win the ATP CUP at 3.95 with BetWay
On paper, Spain have the best team, with all of the three players being in the Top 30 (and Rafa does tend to get pumped for team events - see the Davis Cup). They will have no problem topping their group, or beating their opponents in the QF, who won't be a group winner. The winners of group C or F should also not pose too many problems for Spain. They'd then either face Serbia or Russia I think...Spain would prefer to face Russia, given Khachanov's patchy form in 2019, however, even if they face Serbia, Djokovic's abysmal record in doubles in the recent Davis Cup should ensure that Spain are marginal favourites in that match-up.

I'm usually shooting for something like 10+ season-long bets, here is what I've come up with so far. Unfortunately, it seems that the bookies are a bit scared by the long term markets this time around for some reason, so this is all with Unibet - if you find a good range somewhere, let me know and I'm going to take a look through it (and I really mean this)!
Top 50 - ATP Singles Ranking as of 30 November 2020 - Hyeon Chung - Yes at 1.85 with Unibet
Chung was obviously missing from action last year and that's why his ranking dropped so much, but he recovered well when he came back and I think that he's now ready to roll again. I don't know what's there to say honestly, I think that this one is only about fitness and the signs are that it should hold.
Top 70 - ATP Singles Ranking as of 30 November 2020 - Cameron Norrie - Yes at 1.88 with Unibet
I backed Cameron Norrie to do well in 2019 and I'm going to back him to do well in 2020 yet again, as he really matured as a player and as he is now an established guy that rarely fails to deliver. Sure, he might not have enough talent to make it to the really top spots, but he has what it takes to get a good run in major tournaments and even win one or two smaller ones, so he should have every chance to finish within top 70, if not even higher.
Top 80 - ATP Singles Ranking as of 30 November 2020 - Vasek Pospisil - Yes at 1.73 with Unibet
The Davis Cup that took place in November was interesting for all sorts of reasons, but the one man that stood out apart from Nadal was Vasek Pospisil. The Canadian had to go through all sorts of issues in recent times, but he seems to be on the up at the moment and he seems to be up for the singles again as well, so I think that we are going to see him go places in 2020. Besides, the top 80 line is so low that even one good GS run can be enough for it to be easily covered and I have no doubts that Pospisil can produce such a run.
Top 80 - ATP Singles Ranking as of 30 November 2020 - Alejandro Davidovich Fokina - Yes at 1.96 with Unibet
Top 100 - ATP Singles Ranking as of 30 November 2020 - Hugo Dellien - Yes at 2.08 with Unibet
I'm going to group these guys together, as the reasoning is pretty similar. Both played mainly in Challengers in 2019 and managed to finish quite up there in the rankings, so they should be both aiming to play the main events almost exclusively in 2020 - and they are both good enough to crush these lines talent-wise. There are some natural doubts about how they can compete outside clay, but Dellien looked amazing in Basel and Fokina just needs more prep, which he should be able to get in the off-season with some decent coaching.
Top 50 - WTA Singles Ranking as of 9 November 2020 - Rebecca Peterson - Yes at 1.88 with Unibet
Peterson's name might not be on anyone's list, but she's surprisingly consistent and still quite young, so I actually wouldn't be surprised to see her go again in 2020. She finished 44th in 2019 despite winning just three matches on the Grand Slam level, which is a really good achievement imo and one that shows that she just needs that little bit of experience to perhaps break through. The fact that she won two really good events in China at the end of the 2019 season should boost her confidence as well.
Top 70 - WTA Singles Ranking as of 9 November 2020 - Marie Bouzkova - Yes at 1.88 with Unibet
Honestly, this is the bet that I like the most from the entire list, as Bouzkova could easily finish much higher. She's tremendously talented and she's been working hard in the off-season from what I know, so I have no idea why she shouldn't deliver, fitness-permitting. I reckon that she's still flying under the radar for many, but she's a genuine gem imo.
Top 80 - WTA Singles Ranking as of 9 November 2020 - Laura Siegemund - Yes at 2.10 with Unibet
Laura Siegemund had to go through a long recovery process after a bad injury and she's not the youngest anymore, so this is somewhat risky on that account, but I don't see her giving up after a fairly promising 2019. She was top 30 for a good reason and she managed to beat many decent names in 2019, while the top 80 line can get smashed with just a single good GS run - and she has enough experience to get one if luck is on her side draw-wise.
Top 90 - WTA Singles Ranking as of 9 November 2020 - Jil Belen Teichmann - Yes at 1.96 with Unibet
Top 120 - WTA Singles Ranking as of 9 November 2020 - Jessica Pegula - Yes at 1.88 with Unibet
Finally, I'm also going to back two talented players in Teichmann and Pegula. I'm not quite sure whether they have what it takes to be really good in the long run, although Teichmann might be, but what made me go for these bets are the lines, which really are low given what Teichmann and Pegula are capable of here and there. Pegula was playing very little in 2019 and finished 83th despite all that, so there you go.

@CzechPunter - when you have decided on season long bets, do let us know!?

Alright guys, the 2019 tennis season is more or less officially over, so it's time for a fairly long review of what happened.
On the sporting side of things, I think that we had a fairly intriguing season. I am, of course, hugely disappointed that we don't have any new Grand Slam winners, with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal splitting all four titles evenly, but Daniil Medvedev came agonizingly close in the US Open and I think that the final there was actually the match of the year for me. I reckon that some of you will claim that the Wimbledon finals were the real thing, but I unfortunately didn't actually get to see that one, so I have no idea about what actually happened apart from the scoreboard changes. I did get to watch Nadal-Medvedev in the middle of the night while a storm was raging outside, however, so yeah, that was an interesting experience :D.
The second ATP story of the year that I'd like to highlight here was Murray's comeback, as I was genuinely convinced that he wouldn't be able to do much after his loss against.....er...I think it was Viola. He did grab a title afterwards in style, however, and I think that he might do even more in 2020. It's hard to say how much he can do in the physically-more-demanding Grand Slams, but he should be very dangerous everywhere else.
As far as the WTA is concerned, well, it's still a mess, isn't it? And I think that we have Clijsters or someone coming back next year as well, which is honestly just crazy - if she's going to make it, it really is going to speak volumes about the difference between ATP and WTA, I really can't imagine that we'd have Radek Stepanek or someone making a singles comeback in the same vein :D. The Grand Slams were obviously quite exciting with the Williams story and with seven different players occupying those eight final places, which is just really good for the game imo. It's great to have Bianca coming up, but I'm really sad that Marketa Vondrousova is yet another of those great talents trapped in awfully frail bodies. I'm getting Djokovic vibes whenever I see her play for some reason, but, well, she's currently after a surgery and we haven't see her since Wimbledon, so I'm not sure what the state of affairs is going to be next year.
On the forum side of things, the activity has picked up quite a bit in comparison with the previous season and we now have a nice mix of regulars and newcomers, so I'm really hoping that we are going to continue in the same fashion once the Australian Open starts. The passion always goes down a bit after the US Open and that is understandable, but I'd like to see all the guys here again in January. I'm not even going to name anyone, as I'm sure that I'd miss someone! In any case, I didn't even have to ban all that many people in 2019, which is just excellent!
And, finally, the betting side of things. While I was hoping to get to the lower levels of the competition, I didn't get to that for all sorts of reasons, so there were no easy pickings to be found anywhere. I'm hoping to get to exploring that area next year, especially if everything is still going to be so difficult on the main tours, but that's not for now, that's for later - and January is going to be all about the main tour anyway. Results-wise, I'm happy to say that 2019 was another profitable year, although I must admit that it wasn't as great as I was hoping it to be. Overall, it appears that I managed to place a grand total of 292 bets and that I ended with a decent ROI of 103%. I know that many people are still actively debating what ROI is achievable long term, but it's really hard for me to contribute to that, as it really depends on a great many of factors. I'm certainly guilty of being a bit overactive, which leads to some bad bets here and there, and I'm also guilty of not trying to exploit ITFs and Challengers as often as possible. I am going to try to change that if given a chance - and should lead to at least somewhat better results.
So, on that note, I hope that you are all going to have a great off-season, Christmas, etc., and I hope that we are all going to meet here either at the end of December or at least for the start of the Australian Open (January 20). I thank you all for being here and contributing!

Indoor hard.

The Canadians have done it!

Yes, strange decision by the Canadian captain as Canada already had won the tie. Perhaps FAA will take one of the singles slots?

Well, almost-the-last week is here. There are still the ATP Finals, of course, and the Davis Cup, but I'm not sure how popular the latter is going to be with the new format and the former have just a couple of matches per day, so yeah, this is where things almost come to an end this season. Enjoy and good luck!
Marin Cilic to beat Hubert Hurkacz at 1.71 with Pinnacle
Neither guy is in a particularly good form, but Cilic seems to be playing somewhat better nonetheless and he has a very sweet record against the (still) youngster, so I'm going with him for my first pick of the week. Moreover, the Paris conditions are quite specific and Hurkacz hasn't played in them before, so that's yet another thing speaking for the experienced Croat here.

Antwerp ATP
Kwon Soon - Pella
Against my prediction, Kwon Soon succeeded to beat Gasquet. In my opinion, that happened because of the poor physical form of Gasquet. He played well first set and a part of the second but later, in longer rallies, he started to go from offensive to defensive more and more often.
Kwon Soon looks good looking at the stats. This year he played a lot of games on hard court a won almost all of them. To be noticed that almost all of the opponents, excepting a few (Gasquet himself, Pouille, Londero) were either outside top 100.
Pella does not look so impressive statistically. He played less hard-court games and his favourite surface seems to be clay. Starting with august, he played 12 hard-court games and won 6 of them. To be noticed that almost all the opponents were < top 50. He lost to guys like Basilashvilli, Careno-Busta, Schwartzman but also beat Goffin, Albot, Dimitrov.
These two guys played against each other on hard court a couple of months ago and Pella won 2:1, taking last 2 sets 6:1, 6:2. I count on Pella's slightly superior quality and experience of games against better players. Pella to win @1.83 Unibet.

This is a general tip for ATP St. Petersburg: I'd oppose both Khachanov and Medvedev, despite the potential for both of them to play well in front of a "home" crowd. Khachanov is miles away from his best (and I saw he became a new father recently) and surely all of Medvedev's tennis will finally catch up with him.

This is a general tip for ATP St. Petersburg: I'd oppose both Khachanov and Medvedev, despite the potential for both of them to play well in front of a "home" crowd. Khachanov is miles away from his best (and I saw he became a new father recently) and surely all of Medvedev's tennis will finally catch up with him.

This is a general tip for ATP St. Petersburg: I'd oppose both Khachanov and Medvedev, despite the potential for both of them to play well in front of a "home" crowd. Khachanov is miles away from his best (and I saw he became a new father recently) and surely all of Medvedev's tennis will finally catch up with him.

In case anyone wonders what I did with the pick - i did nothing. Literally nothing. I just sat there and watched the match. And I made more than a nice profit in the end. 

Struff (to win) against Isner - @ 2.10
Simple explanation for this: Since Isner's foot injury, he hasn't been himself, losing early in both Cincinnati and Montreal. Struff, on the other hand, is a player on the up and I've prepared to back him here as the underdog. Yes, Isner does own a 3-0 H2H record, but the last match was in 2016 and Struff will be facing a very different Isner in 2019...

Struff (to win) against Isner - @ 2.10
Simple explanation for this: Since Isner's foot injury, he hasn't been himself, losing early in both Cincinnati and Montreal. Struff, on the other hand, is a player on the up and I've prepared to back him here as the underdog. Yes, Isner does own a 3-0 H2H record, but the last match was in 2016 and Struff will be facing a very different Isner in 2019...

Cori Gauff to beat Timea Babos at 1.78 with Pinnacle
Magda Linette (+1.5 sets) to beat Naomi Osaka at 1.82 with Pinnacle
And here I find myself, opposing @Fader. That's not a comfortable thing to do, but I didn't like Osaka as much as he did by the looks of things and I think that she's now vulnerable against just about anyone. Linette has already beaten her and she's on a roll, so I fancy her to emerge with at least one set here and I wouldn't be shocked to see her get the outright upset either. Meanwhile, I also like Gauff to continue proving herself, as I liked her performance against Potapova. It wasn't perfect, but she needed a hard win to get something against the mounting pressure and Babos isn't the player she once was these days. Slower than before and without as much power, so she should find it difficult to fight against the American.

I would assume that it's almost strangest day from my point of view:
Vasek Pospisil won Karen Khachanov odd: 8.76
Thomas Fabbiano won Dominic Thiem odd: 6.5 (started at 11.96)
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe won Filip Krajinovic odd: 5.27
Pablo Andujar won Kyle Edmund odd: 5.03
 
Is it solar or moon influence? should i go to astrologyst next time before betting?

Outright US Open Men - Thiem to win @ 28.0
I will probably cash out the following bet at SF or Final stage, but I do believe Thiem is being underestimated by the bookies here at 28.0. The US Open courts aren't the fastest which obviously benefits Thiem. He has had an impressive year, most notably winning in California and making the finals of Roland Garros. Last year he was excruciatingly close in knocking out Nadal and I think he has got better since then.

IMHO Kwon is one of the most overrated players right now and you can well make advantage from that. It was a joke to give him odds under 1.10 yesterday. Dellien might be a sole claycourt player, barely playing on HC, but he has a good mentality and is fighting for every point. Backing him to win a set at evens was a real gift. 

I am not quite sure about Escobedo, who is nothing more than a challenger level player, albeit with some decent results recently. OK, Chung is coming back from a serious injury, but he already appeared at some challenger tournaments and crushed all his opponents in the qualies, apparently ready to compete at the highest level again. Quality-wise there is no question for me who is the better player, and I think the odds are correctly allocated. Therefore I personally don't see any value in backing any of the players.

Outright US Open Men - Thiem to win @ 28.0
I will probably cash out the following bet at SF or Final stage, but I do believe Thiem is being underestimated by the bookies here at 28.0. The US Open courts aren't the fastest which obviously benefits Thiem. He has had an impressive year, most notably winning in California and making the finals of Roland Garros. Last year he was excruciatingly close in knocking out Nadal and I think he has got better since then.

Cepelova to beat Begu at 1.87 with SportingBet
I must admit I have not watched the US qualifying rounds. I'm basing this bet on the H2H record, which is 3-0 in favour of Cepelova.