January 8 - January 14

[CzechPunter]

[CzechPunter]

Kirsten Flipkens to beat Kristyna Pliskova at 1.91 with BetVictor

Pliskova did surprise everyone a bit last week, but Flipkens is going to be a very different proposition than the likes of Ostapenko and Bogdan. It will be a clash of styles, really, with Pliskova going for her shots and Flipkens trying to upset her rhythm with all kinds of slices and neutral shots. If Pliskova gets her rhythm on quickly and confidently, she is going to win this, but Flipkens knows the conditions well after the qualifiers and she also has a 2-0 record against the Czech, so I'd have her as the favourite in this match. Looks like 60/40 to me.

Karen Khachanov to beat Yuichi Sugita at 1.60 with Unibet

Khachanov beat Sugita 6-4 6-2 last week and, honestly, this could just be more of the same. Sugita will want to turn things around, of course, but the performances he put in during the Hopman Cup were far from convincing, while Khachanov managed to trouble both Sock and Federer in that tournament. I fancy Khachanov quite strongly here - he could even take the title if things go his way.

Fabio Fognini/Rajeev Ram to beat Viktor Troicki/Jan-Lennard Struff at 1.72 with Bet365

First of all, Troicki and Struff aren't exactly doubles specialists. Secondly, they are both out of the singles and there's a Grand Slam tournament just around the corner, so the motivation factor isn't likely to be that great. Ram is a doubles specialist and Fognini plays doubles very regularly, so I'd have this pair closer to the 1.40 mark here.

Paolo Lorenzi/Mischa Zverev (+1.5 sets) to beat Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau at 2.23 with Sbobet

The match line is certainly playable at 5.00, but I prefer the set handicap for safety reasons, especially since both Lorenzi and Zverev are in Sydney primarily for the singles. They are capable volleyers, however, and they've played some good matches together, even taking a set off Kontinen/Peers at the end of the last year. Rojer and Tecau will be playing for the first time in 2018, so there might be some rustiness as well - and, well, even one break could be enough for them to lose a set.