Tennis Masters - Cincinnati

[edtkh]

As the Masters Series heads back to the US before the US Open, the first day seems to present some pretty interesting match-ups. On centre court, Gaudio will take on Gambill, followed by an all-German Schuettler-Haas affair. Fish will then take on Agassi to complete the day session. GAMBILL - Gaudio Gaudio are highly rated by most books to take this at a canter, but history of meetings between the pair doesn't bode too well for the Argentinian - Gambill holds a 2-0 h2h lead over Gaudio and IMO is as good, if not better, a player on hardcourts as Gaudio. Definitely value in Gambill here IMO. Schuettler - HAAS Schuettler leads 4-0 on h2h(they haven't met since 2002 though), but HAAS has the better record on hardcourts this year. Add to that the sublime form Haas has been in lately, he'll certainly be a force to be reckoned with. At the very least, it's a 50-50 match IMO - hence, the value in Haas. FISH - Agassi There's massive value IMO for Fish to take out Agassi at the first hurdle. Fish leads Agassi 1-0 on h2h and he was also the finalist here last year, losing to Roddick in the final. Truth be told, Agassi is not half the player he was when he won his last Slam(Aussie Open '03) and I personally feel there's always great value to be had spotting upsets involving Agassi as he's often over-rated by most books on the basis of his reputation more than anything(lost to Haas a couple of weeks ago, then to Melzer last week).

[Guest mattsthebest]

Re:Cinci First thing to consider this week is that we can expect faster courts then those in Toronto - advantage to the big hitters. I agree with your above picks edtkh. Fish does look to be good value, but his form and fitness is hardly that much better then Agassi. He has already pulled out of two tournaments, with I think back problems. So reduced stakes for those interested. Also, just correcting you on the Haas v Schuettler H2H. They last played in Hamburg this year, and Schuettler won that in 3 sets, that being on clay, the only surface that has really brought Shaker success this year. Haas should like the faster courts of Cinci as well. Gambill always lifts his game to a new level not seen outside of the US when playing in his home country. I really think that he should win this game and win quite well.