2nd April - 8th April

[CzechPunter]

Charleston and Davis Cup, here we go :hope

[CzechPunter]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Couple of picks for me, it has been a long time. (3/10) Zahlavova-Strycova to beat Giorgi @ 1.73 with Pinnacle Despite her bad form recently, she should have too much for the Italian, who is still not experienced enough and I would say not good enough right now as well. ZS did well here last year, losing only to Wozniacki in two tie-breaks, which should be a nice boost and I expect her to record a victory, although it may be a hard-fought one. (2/10) Radwanska to beat Hradecka @ 2.62 with Pinnacle 50/50 for me, so going with value. Radwanska prevailed in their last meeting and Hradecka is in a pretty awkard form right now, which generally means that you should stay away from backing her. The value clearly lies with the underdog here, who is more consistent than the streaky Czech. (2/10) Date to beat Hercog @ 4.25 with Pinnacle What is this all about I do not know. Yep, she is probably going to retire soon and she is not going to compete with the best anymore, but this is a fast surface and Hercog is no world beater. Date beat her just a few months ago in the Fed Cup and the odds were 1.87 back then, do not know what has changed so dramatically since then. Might come up with more later.

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Kimiko Date-Krumm +5.5 vs Polona Hercog. 1.95 @ Nordicbet (6/10) Hercog pretty much plays only on clay and this could be her chance to make some damage but we must remember that Charleston is a green clay or in other words is not a real clay. Plays a bit faster etc. Krumm is crafty tennis player and despite her solid age can at least make this one a lot closer match than many expect. She's not gonna serve aces or kill you with her forehand/backhand but she can play long rallies. Hercog will do the same. I find stats very interesting as Krumm is 2-0 vs Hercog with both wins recorded in Fed Cup. One of those was on clay in 2010, the other on hard courts this year. Could be an upset on cards but will play it safe as +5.5 looks acceptable to me. Christina McHale to beat Aleksandra Wozniak. 1.68 @ Pinnacle (7/10) Wozniak has had some really impressive results recently, almost beat Venus etc. But that was on hard courts. Clay however is not her thing. Sha barely plays on this surface where as McHale actually is very good on clay. She spends a lot of time in Italy on clay and knows how to play on this surface. I'd fancy her to beat Aleksa on hard courts as well, so this is a no-brainer to back her on clay. She was in 1/4finals here last year, only stopped by Jankovic, but beat Watson, Kleybanova and Hantuchova prior that. So quite few points to defend as well. Sloane Stephens to beat Jamie Hampton. 1.86 @ Pinnacle (5/10) Another case where one player is good on clay but other one doesn't really play that much on a particular surface. Stephens has done very well on clay in juniors (French Open semifinal) and has got some results on WTA tour as well. My worry for Hampton is that she, despite being older, has got less experience at this level, besides looks tired and is slightly injured as well. Stephens beat her in Indian Wells last week on hard courts in straights (6-2, 6-4). On paper, this one looks like a win on clay as well.

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Stephens WTF?! That was too obvious. Threw away both sets after having set points on serve. The way she donated the 2nd set was beyond ridiculous. Was 5-1 up and failed to serve it out twice. Blacklisted straight away!

[Manel88]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Stephens WTF?! That was too obvious. Threw away both sets after having set points on serve. The way she donated the 2nd set was beyond ridiculous. Was 5-1 up and failed to serve it out twice. Blacklisted straight away!

Really...what a sick game :S

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Fingers crossed, no choking today. Couple early ones Jill Craybas to beat Akgul Amanmuradova. 1.87 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Think old Jill can outsmart Amanmuradova here. The Uzbeki player basically all about serve and big shots, but covering ground is an issue as she's very tall. Craybas can mix it up a bit if needed and also can hit some big shots as well. Both passed quallies and Craybas was the more impressive not dropping a set. Big factor in my decision to back the American veteran is H2H stats. Craybas is 6-1 against Amanmuradova and the only time she lost was in three sets on hard courts. On clay, which will suit her more, she's 3-0 without dropping a set. Last meeting 6-3, 6-3 win in Barcelona last year. Anna Tatishvili to beat Arantxa Rus. 2.37 @ Pinnacle (3/10) Fancy Tatishivili as an underdog here. She made 3rd round in Charleston last year beating the likes of Dokic and Kirilenko in process. Anna plays her best tennis on clay and she never stops running, that compensates the fact that she lacks power. Rus very inconsistent player but finally has managed to put together decent run winning Ospray Challenger. Not much of a talent over there. Expect her to be a bit tired. Tatishvili beat her in Cuneo Challenger final last year, that's also on clay and has 2-1 overall record against the Dutch big hitter. Tatishvili needs to defend tons of points, so expect her to show up.

[homunculus]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April A.Rodionova vs Medina Garrigues over 20 games @2.140 Pinnacle Line seems too low form me. In her previous match with Oudin, Medina was huge fav (Oudin's price was 5.47), yet Medina dropped the second set. Adding to that that Anastasia did actually beat her last time they met in Guangzhou 2007 in tight three setter, and that Medina is moderate fav in this match (Anastasia's price is about 3.7), and that Anastasia had quite good serve profile in her previous match with Czink, I conclude that this is not going to be easy victory for Medina.

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Marina Erakovic -1.5 games vs Karolina Pliskova. 1.86 @ Pinnacle (4/10) These odds make very little sense. Unless Erakovic has got some sort of injury which I'm not aware of, I can not understand why she's not bigger favorite today. Pliskova basically a Challenger tour level and has won something like one main tour match on WTA. Not impressive to say the least. Lots of improvement lately but nothing really impressive about her results. She can serve and hit big shots but Erakovic has got the experience which counts the most here. I wouldn't rate her higher than 1.5 today, so have to play this. Choosing handicap which is tiny and can be a refund if she's is injured after all. Vera Zvonarava -3.5 vs Kateryna Bondarenko. 1.85 @ Nordicbet (6/10) Zvonareva has been terrible all year long, no confidece, no nothing. She has come out and said that she finally feels good about everything concerning the tour. She's a loosing finalist in Charleston in 2008 and 2010, so can play here and has got nice memories. My problem with Bondarenko is that she's the last person on tour I would trust. She is all over the place in terms of serving once again. 9 double faults, 5 times broken by average player Govortsova yesterday. Far from impressive stats. Zvonareva is 2-0 lifetime against Bondarenko and unless she drops a set, she should be good to cover the spread. There will plenty of break point opportunities for Vera, it's all about the conversion rate. Serena Williams vs Elena Vesnina. Under 17.5 games. 1.90 @ Bet365 (7/10) Vesnina was all over the place against Dubois yesterday. It's hard to see how she's goint to win points against Serena, let alone games. Williams need a good performance against the shocker against Wozniacki in Miami. Vesnina basically has got no weapons against Serena and this match will be all abot how many unforced errors the American makes. She can loos five games and still cover the line. In their only meeting Williams won 6-1, 6-1 in 2008 and Vesnina held her serve just once.

[Manel88]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Psycho can i ask you something... your confidence like (4/10) , (6/10) it means like 4 or 6 units out of a maximum 10 units? Thanks in advance

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Psycho can i ask you something... your confidence like (4/10) , (6/10) it means like 4 or 6 units out of a maximum 10 units? Thanks in advance

Yes, it is so!

[ImLovinIt]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Venus Williams to beat Jelana Jankovic in a clay tournament .. around 20/39 with 10bet Should be straight forward enough, if you want better odds just find a handicap, -1.5 or -2.5 games ... she has been solid since her return and Jankovic hasn't impressed me whatsoever, shes very streaky and her bad streaks will be punished as she won't get many look ins on the Venus serve. Doubled this with Paula Ormaechea to beat Galina Voskoboeva in the same clay tournament, Ormaechea is an up and coming star she is taking the WTA by storm and her favourite surface is by far clay, she looked formidable against Scheepers 2 days back and considering Vosko hasn't played on clay since over almost a year ago now and Ormaecha has come through qualies and gotten used to the surface AND BEAT A RELATIVELY TOP NAME ON THE SURFACE... I would make her favourite. 33/20 with 10Bet As a double 3/1 with 10Bet 7/10 strength in confidence

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Polona Hercog to beat Varvara Lepchenko. 1.71 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Hercog very solid in her opening match, even better than I expected. Dropped only 16 points on serve and was broken just once. Lepchenko on the other hand had a nightmare match against Yakimova, played three sets and could have lost. Like I said in previous post about Hercog, she normally shows up only on clay and feels comfortable on this surface. Have to fancy her to win. Hercog has won their only meeting on clay easily - 6-1, 6-2 in Cuneo Challenger in 2009. Barbora Zahlavova Styrcova to beat Aleksandra Wozniak. 2.80 @ Bwin (4/10) Once again, don't think this surface suits Wozniak. She had a very tough match against McHale and had to battle really hard to win yet another three set match. There have been way too many 3-setters for her lately. It takes away a lot of energy. Strycova nothing special about her, just a solid player who can do some damage against average players like Wozniak. She has beaten her all three times they've played and none of those has been on clay, so she has been able to deal with the Canadian on faster surfaces. Should be able to beat her on clay as well.

[homunculus]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

A.Rodionova vs Medina Garrigues over 20 games @2.140 Pinnacle :ok

Good start for the event

[nickcook69]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Does anyone know how Venus Williams is looking against Jankovic? Is she showing signs of fatigue early on like she did against Radwanska in Miami? I know rain has stopped play currently but was wondering what the early exchanges were like? Also, what are peoples thoughts on the match? Cheers

[caligulaxx]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Does anyone know how Venus Williams is looking against Jankovic? Is she showing signs of fatigue early on like she did against Radwanska in Miami? I know rain has stopped play currently but was wondering what the early exchanges were like? Also' date=' what are peoples thoughts on the match? Cheers[/quote'] Sorry mate, i'm afraid no one can help you. As far as i know this tournament is not televised. Can't really understand how this can be, no transmision from Charleston but the Barletta and San Potoisi challengers are streamed. However Venus seems to have notched up her game

[CzechPunter]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April It is strange really, but we will have the DC starting tomorrow, which should make up for it!

[nickcook69]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Glad to see Venus came through though! Impossible to find a live stream anywhere! 2 picks for today: Marion Bartoli to beat Polona Hercog at 1/2 with WillHill Bartoli has a 4-0 record against Hercog, having beaten her on clay before in Madrid 2010. Just feel Bartoli has too much for Hercog here despite coming through her second round match in 3 sets. Bartoli has beaten Hercog only last week aswell after losing the first set in Miami. Nadia Petrova to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at 8/15 with WillHill Pavlyuchenkovahas not won back to back matches all year, Petrova holds a 2-0 record over Pavlyuchenkova and saved 2 match points in her match with Craybas before coming back to take the third set so should be going in with high confidence.:hope

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Lucie Safarova to beat Aleksandra Wozniak. 1.71 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Third time lucky, I hope going against Wozniaki I wonder how much more she can offer physically after two very tough matches. Safarova dropped just two games yesterday and despite being error prone she can really hit you off the court. Lots of power, can serve very good on her day etc. Considering the energy factor, I think Safarova will have a clear advantage. Nadezda Petrova -3 vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 1.93 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Pavlyuchenkova in really horrible form, barely beat Daniilidou in previous round. Petrova struggled a bit against Craybas but you can understand that as Jill is not that bad. Petrova working with Sanchez this year and there are few obvious improvements in her game, especially more positive attitude. Considering how poor Pavly has been lately and the fact that she is not much of a clay court player, I am backing Petrova here without any doubts. Should be able to win with something to spare. Venus Williams -6.5 vs Anastasia Rodionova. 2.00 @ Bet365 (7/10) Ok, Venus has one match under her belt and with little help from Jankovic she won 7-5, 6-0 last night. Rodionova doesn't possess any threats to Williams and it will be all about how much Venus gives away. Rodionova is mentally very vulnerable tennis player and naturally falls apart against Top ranked players. I think this could be a very quick job for Venus. Don't think she will drop more than 4-5 games. Prefer handicap over unders as there might be a few games at the start of the match when Rodionova hangs on. Yaroslava Shvedova to beat Sabine Lisicki. 2.55 @ Bwin (3/10) Slava is my underdog choice of the day. She's been very good this week, has not dropped a set in 4 matches, that's including qualies. Liciski, former champion here, had a very tough match against Hlavackova, won in three sets. btw, Shvedova beat Hlavackova in straights in qualies. Lisicki has got serve and big shots but she makes way too many errors. Shvedova more solid and can take an advantage of gifs she'll be given. Shvedova has beaten Lisicki both times they've played - 6-4, 7-6(3) in Hopmann Cup in 2010 and 6-3, 0-1 via a retirement in Miami the same year. With Lisicki's notorious injury problems, I would not be shocked if she quit today again...

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Davis Cup John Isner to beat Gilles Simon. 2.16 @ Pinnacle (5/10) Even the fact that this will be played on clay wouldn't put me off. Isner can play on clay. He's beaten Federer on this surface in Davis Cup earlier this year and taken Djokovic to five sets also in Davis Cup, both those matches were on indoor clay. This time it's an outdoor clay but not much of a difference. Isner can hit aces also on outdoor clay. Bare in mind, big John took Rafa to five sets in French Open last year. Very few people can do that. Isner is 2-0 lifetime against Simon, both matches on hard. Should be a close one,but in the end I think Isner will win. Just have to fancy him in tie-breaks. David Ferrer vs Andreas Haider-Maurer. Under 25.5 games. 1.72 @Bet365 (6/10) Feel for Haider Maurer in this one. Will be destroyed. Can't see any other outcome, especially on clay on Spanish soil. The Austrian can play a bit on hard courts as he's got serve but clay is nowhere near his thing. Besides he's been awful lately and can't even get results on Challenger circuit. Ferrer crushed him 6-1, 6-1 on clay in Bastad last year in their only meeting and it should be another hammering.

[ImLovinIt]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Davis Cup - Spain vs Austria - On Clay Almagro to beat Melzer -1.5 sets handicap @ 4/7 with Paddy Power Almagro has hit adolecency in tennis terms, the man is mature now and no longer a complete bellend as he used to be in his early 20s. I would have had Almagro comprehensively the better clay courter back then, now I have him far and away the better clay courter. Spain are at home and Almagro has been drafted in for cover for cover for Nadal, it can't be any what of a suprise they picked him over Verdasco who is extremely eratic and rather somewhat unreliable. Almagro will want to grab this opportunity with both hands, its a proud moment for him and he'll want to firmly establish himself as an immediate backup for Rafa or David. Melzer, if you follow the game is a renownd choker, the guy has no balls and little heart, he can produce from time to time top 20 tennis but even that won't be enough to force Almagro to 5 sets. Should be fairly comfortable in the end I believe. ^ + Czech Republic vs Serbia - On Clay - Stepanek vs Tipsarevic - Tipsarevic to win @ 4/7 with Paddy Power Amazing odds really, Stepanek's best surface is indoor hard or may be, perhaps, you could say, arguably grass, so now lets be real.... CLAY? The man's not getting any younger, can't say this has me worried. The odds are probably dictated by the fact the Czech's are at home, home support plays a role in Davis Cup, so the bookies are playing it a little cautious here, I would agree with them if it wasn't a best of 5 set match. Stepanek is a grandad, Tipsy hasn't played much better than this and is also at the peak of his career in terms of fitness. Around 13/8 as a double with Paddy Power. Confidence 8.5/10

[ImLovinIt]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Davis Cup again.... Daniel Evans to squeeze atleast one set against Oliver Rochus... I reckon he should, probably should more so than could, okay may be could more so than should, Rochus is inconsistent ... +2.5 set handicap ... 8/13 odds with Paddy Power. 6.5/10

[caligulaxx]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Davis Cup - Spain vs Austria - On Clay Almagro to beat Melzer -1.5 sets handicap @ 4/7 with Paddy Power Almagro has hit adolecency in tennis terms, the man is mature now and no longer a complete bellend as he used to be in his early 20s. I would have had Almagro comprehensively the better clay courter back then, now I have him far and away the better clay courter. Spain are at home and Almagro has been drafted in for cover for cover for Nadal, it can't be any what of a suprise they picked him over Verdasco who is extremely eratic and rather somewhat unreliable. Almagro will want to grab this opportunity with both hands, its a proud moment for him and he'll want to firmly establish himself as an immediate backup for Rafa or David. Melzer, if you follow the game is a renownd choker, the guy has no balls and little heart, he can produce from time to time top 20 tennis but even that won't be enough to force Almagro to 5 sets. Should be fairly comfortable in the end I believe. ^ + Czech Republic vs Serbia - On Clay - Stepanek vs Tipsarevic - Tipsarevic to win @ 4/7 with Paddy Power Amazing odds really, Stepanek's best surface is indoor hard or may be, perhaps, you could say, arguably grass, so now lets be real.... CLAY? The man's not getting any younger, can't say this has me worried. The odds are probably dictated by the fact the Czech's are at home, home support plays a role in Davis Cup, so the bookies are playing it a little cautious here, I would agree with them if it wasn't a best of 5 set match. Stepanek is a grandad, Tipsy hasn't played much better than this and is also at the peak of his career in terms of fitness. Around 13/8 as a double with Paddy Power. Confidence 8.5/10

Very nice write-up, good luck!

[Alovenac]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Tsonga - Harrison Like to play this under, but i think Tsonga will dominate the youngster Harrison. Tsonga have a good record on clay by Davis Cups matches. Singles: 3w1l Doubles: 3w0l The Davis Cup is really new for Harrison. He had only one match playing and he will won this match. But i think he can't handle the playstyle from Tsonga and the Frenchmen will dominate the most long points and will win his servicegames a little bit easy. 4/10 under 35.5 games @ 1.90 SBOBet

[Alovenac]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Simon - Isner Don't know why Isner is the underdog here. Okay, the surface is clay. But i don't understand why people think Isner can't win this. Early this year he show that he can play on clay. He beat Federer in the Davis Cup and shows some great tennis. Isner is become a better player in the last year on every surface. Don't like Simon the last months. He don't let mee see a good perfomance and it will be like that he will choke in some matches. 2/10 Isner tb. Simon @ 2.24 Pinnacle

[Alovenac]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Stepanek - Tipsarevic This match will be played on Clay. I think both players have the same problems on this surface. Maybe Stepanek will like this surface a little bit more than Tipsarevic. Only i think dat Tipsarevic have more quality to win this match here than his opponent Stepanek. 4/10 Tipsarevic tb. Stepanek @ 1.51 Pinnacle

[Atko]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April One bet for me ... on the same lines as ImLovinIt Nicolas Almagro -5.5 games (v Jurgen Melzer) @ 1.82 Almagro is a demon on the clay at the moment and wins these matches more often than not. Going to chance the handicap because Melzer's capable of throwing in a 6-1 somewhere down the line. Both good players but Nico has home advantage and is at his best on clay. I also wonder how fit Melzer is - he's been suffering from a back niggle for the last year and didn't kick on after winning Memphis. H2H is 2-1 in Melzer's favour but Almagro did tan him 3 and 1 in Madrid, on clay, two years ago. 2010 was also Melzer's best year on tour. Fancy the Spaniard. :hope

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Serena Williams -5 vs Sabine Liciski. 1.84 @ Pinnacle (5/10) Don't trust Lisicki here. She was a break down in both sets against Shvedova but the Kazakh messed it up big time. Serena might be sloppy at times and prolly will donate some games but I expect her to be all over Sabine's 2nd serve. There are always tons of double faults for Lisicki. She was hammered 6-1, 6-2 by Williams in Stanford last year which was their only meeting. Lisicki admitted that she was nervous back then but one must wonder how much braver she'll be today. It's still all about your ability. That serve is just so inconsistent. And Serena means business this week. Vera Zvonareva -2 vs Lucie Safarova. 1.93 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Safarova has been quite good this week but had a blip in the 2nd set against Wozniak yesterday. Had Aleksa been fresh it might have been different outcome. Zvonareva shaky against Voegele but I believe that tough match will bring the best out her. Both are big hitters. I believe Zvonareva has just a little bit more to offer on return + less unforced errors and that will decide the outcome of this match.

[Psycho]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April Some performance by Isman! :cigar

[Atko]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Nicolas Almagro -5.5 games (v Jurgen Melzer) @ 1.82 WIN

+0.82pts for the day. Straightforward win for Nico. Big congrats have to go to ImLovinIt for a clean sweep and Psycho for some nice calls on the Isner and Ferrer matches :ok

[Alovenac]

Re: 2nd April - 8th April

Tsonga - Harrison Like to play this under, but i think Tsonga will dominate the youngster Harrison. Tsonga have a good record on clay by Davis Cups matches. Singles: 3w1l Doubles: 3w0l The Davis Cup is really new for Harrison. He had only one match playing and he will won this match. But i think he can't handle the playstyle from Tsonga and the Frenchmen will dominate the most long points and will win his servicegames a little bit easy. 4/10 under 35.5 games @ 1.90 SBOBet

Simon - Isner Don't know why Isner is the underdog here. Okay, the surface is clay. But i don't understand why people think Isner can't win this. Early this year he show that he can play on clay. He beat Federer in the Davis Cup and shows some great tennis. Isner is become a better player in the last year on every surface. Don't like Simon the last months. He don't let mee see a good perfomance and it will be like that he will choke in some matches. 2/10 Isner tb. Simon @ 2.24 Pinnacle

Stepanek - Tipsarevic This match will be played on Clay. I think both players have the same problems on this surface. Maybe Stepanek will like this surface a little bit more than Tipsarevic. Only i think dat Tipsarevic have more quality to win this match here than his opponent Stepanek. 4/10 Tipsarevic tb. Stepanek @ 1.51 Pinnacle

Unlucky by Tsonga - Harrison. Also profit this day!