Tennis - 1-7 February

[Atko]

Jurgen Melzer (Zagreb, vs Brands) x Viktor Troicki (Zagreb, vs Schuettler): Double at 1.77 Melzer comes into the tournament on some pretty sketchy form, but I think he'll have enough to beat Daniel Brands. The Austrian is by no means at his most comfortable indoors but Brands, who is essentially a clay court player and has posted some poor showings on a hard court, is worse. Melzer, when his game clicks, can out-gun anybody and his big forehand and serve will be too much for the German. Troicki faces a better German in Rainer Schuettler, but the Serb made the semi-finals here last year and has too much power and stamina for his ageing opponent. Schuettler, even early last year, was a decent player, but his star is waning and I can see Troicki taking this. Bet strength: 4pts Zagreb - Simone Bolelli vs Illya Marchenko: Bolelli at 2.00 Bolelli has found wins tough to come by of late, but all of his opponents have been of a better quality than Marchenko. The Italian has the ability but sometimes struggles mentally. I have no doubt, however, that he'll be looking at this match and seeing it as very winnable. The Italian made the semi-finals here in 2008 and does prefer hard courts. He has a decent array of groundstrokes and has the power and accuracy to rise above Marchenko. The Ukranian won a number of matches indoors on the Challenger circuit at the tail end of last year and had a decent run in St Petersburg - however, he's yet to face someone with the ability of Bolelli. I can understand why Bolelli is such a big price in many ways, yet I still feel it represents good value on the better player in this tie. It all depends whether Bolelli can believe in himself in terms of getting a win. I feel he will do. Bet strength: 3pts Zagreb - Mikhail Kukushkin vs Mischa Zverev: Zverev at 2.10 Zverev is a little similar to Bolelli in terms of him having a bad time of things recently. He's suffered from injury and loss of confidence, yet he returns to hardcourts indoors, which he says is his best surface. He made the quarter-finals here last year, taking out Andreas Seppi and Victor Hanescu on the way, There is no doubt he can produce performances. Kukushkin is another who plays well indoors but he is still graduating to Tour level. He's got a nice backhand and has an unbeaten record against left-handed players, but I still think if Zverev plays to his potential, he'll have too much for the Kazakh. The German has ranking points to defend, so I feel he'll be keen to put in a performance here. Bet strength: 3pts Johannesburg - Blaz Kavcic vs Thierry Ascione: Ascione at 2.20 This is a match that could go either way to be honest. Kavcic is predominantly a clay court players - most of his good Challenger matches have come on that surface - and the plexicushion surface here could be too fast for him. In saying that, Ascione prefers a faster hard court, although I still think he'll be happier on the surface than the Slovenian. The 29-year-old has been around the block a few times and knows how to win matches at this level. He'll see it as a good chance to earn some cash. I'd have the odds reversed here, and I do feel deep down that Ascione will win. Small stakes as we're dealing with two poor players in the grand scheme of things, but at the price it's worth a small punt. Bet strength: 1pt

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - 1-7 February yeah....i like your tips i must say atko!! zverev is very tempting at 11-10 but he's just so hard to trust right now!!but i still caqnt resist!i like lacko at 4-5 to beat istomin! i just think he'll be really up for this tournament! bolleli is tempting at evens also! i have to say i really like dolgopolov at 4-6 with boyles!!! i wouldn't be backing kavcic against ascione though!as for troiki melzer double......i really fancy troiki to win but am a little weary of melzer and his motivation!! but overall,i like those bets!!