Tennis - 8-14 February

[Atko]

:ok In here chaps. Tournaments from Rotterdam, San Jose and Costa do Sauipe on the main tour, plus the usual number of challengers. Also, I'll be bringing an exclusive interview with Tommy Robredo on my site www.downthet.com in the coming days. I know alot of tipsters are big tennis fans so I hope you enjoy it. I'll have it written by Tuesday. Anyway, enough of that, let the betting commence! :drums

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Robin Soderling v Florent Serra
Selection	Florent Serra
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 5.00 (Back)
Reasoning	This looks like a very interesting underdog. H2H is 2-2 and 2-1 to Serra indoors, including a win in Memphis last year. Serra can be excellent indoors, but is a very streaky player so not one I generally like to back. Soderling has had a very shaky start to the year, including losses as a massive favourite against Ginepri and Granollers. Concerns over his wrist injury, but with a few weeks since his loss at the Aussie he may have recovered. However, Serra has had success against him before, and is worth a go at this price.

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February It's quite a tough opening day in all three tournaments. I agree with Cramer that Florent Serra offers value against Robin Soderling, but as much as I want to take the big odds, I'm very wary of how flaky Serra can be, especially on his serve. The other match in Rotterdam that looks tasty in Janko Tipsarevic against Florian Mayer. Mayer is coming back to his best, but Tipsarevic is a decent indoors player. Price is too big on Mayer, but I couldn't recommend it. In San Jose, the one that caught my eye was Ernests Gulbis vs Leo Mayer. Both are very similar in the way they attack and I'd say that Gulbis has more talent, but Mayer perhaps has the better temperament. I'd have these two around the same odds so it's good value on Mayer, although once again it's not one I'd want to tip. As for Costa do Sauipe, the one I'm really looking into is home boy Ricardo Mello to beat Paulo Lorenzi. The odds of 1.75 are hugely tempting, but if I decide to go for it after research, I'll post the reasoning. Good luck, Atko

[Twinky99]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February hey guys, im thinking of a few matches here, more like questions rather than picks..so bear with me..cos i dont know much about tennis here, only know the players i seen before.. first one being pablo andujar to beat fillipo volandri at 1.72 odds, i seen andujar play a few times impressed but im not too sure about volandri here, dont know much about the player, can someone give comments? next one is Ruben Bemelmans vs Dustin Brown and pick is dustin brown at 1.44 odds, its the same story as andujar with brown and dont know much about bemelmans either, but just think 1.44 is a giveaway... then there is robin haase vs tommy robredo, actually seen a few people talking about this in menstennisforums and many were tipping haase, but im not sure whether to take him?? 3.25 is good value though.. there are a few in san jose atp that catches the eye... denis istomin, taylor dent, and mardy fish..these 3 i might go for a triple, any comments?

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

hey guys, im thinking of a few matches here, more like questions rather than picks..so bear with me..cos i dont know much about tennis here, only know the players i seen before.. first one being pablo andujar to beat fillipo volandri at 1.72 odds, i seen andujar play a few times impressed but im not too sure about volandri here, dont know much about the player, can someone give comments? next one is Ruben Bemelmans vs Dustin Brown and pick is dustin brown at 1.44 odds, its the same story as andujar with brown and dont know much about bemelmans either, but just think 1.44 is a giveaway... then there is robin haase vs tommy robredo, actually seen a few people talking about this in menstennisforums and many were tipping haase, but im not sure whether to take him?? 3.25 is good value though.. there are a few in san jose atp that catches the eye... denis istomin, taylor dent, and mardy fish..these 3 i might go for a triple, any comments?

Right Twinky99, I'll try to give you an idea on these matches, although this isn't recommendations, only advice. Andujar and Volandri are both happy on the clay so both will like conditions in Brazil. Volandri has slipped down the rankings a fair bit and certainly isn't the player he was. Andujar's won their two meetings on clay, so he has the edge. I'd be more inclined to go with Andujar but both are very average players. I'd be wary of Dustin Brown. He had a big week in Johannesburg and he's playing a decent challenger in Benelmans. They met twice last year and both won one each. I think the price is an overreaction to Brown's performance in South Africa, and personally I wouldn't touch it, although he could just as easily win or lose. Haase was a fine junior player but his career has been curtailed somewhat by injury. He'll have home support but Robredo's a seasoned top 20 player who has Davis Cup experience. He won't be fazed. He'll also want to do well after a horror Australian Open. These shocks do happen but I'd be happy to leave that one alone. On his day, Robredo has too much for Haase, who prefers clay courts. I'd agree with Istomin and, in particular Dent, but not sure about Fish. Michael Russell's beaten him before and is a decent player. Fish is very one-dimensional. If his gameplan isn't working (attack the net), he'll struggle. I don't like trebles, they can be risky, but if you can find three you're confident on, then go for it. Good luck :ok

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Serra - Soderling
Selection	Serra +4.5 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Nordicbet @ 1.75 (Back)
Reasoning	For me Serrra have big chance to take result in this match. Serra play 3 matches against Soderling on this surface and take 2 wins and one lost - won last match in 2009 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. Serra in this year have balance 3-3, but lost against Monfils(6-7, 7-6, 6-1) Troicki(7-6, 6-4) and Murray (7-5, 6-1, 6-4). Last tournament for this player is AO - go to third round. Serra is good player, in my opinion have chance to to TOP50 in next months. Soderling in this year is without form, lose all 4 matches. Lose against Ginepri(100), next against Tsonga(7-6, 6-1), Ljubicic( 6-4 and take injury). In AO Soderling lose in first round against Granollers after 5 sets! Leading 2-0 and lost 3-2! Soderling is not confident before this match.. For me Serra have very good chance to take good result in this match.

[Ka4by]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February hows it going people, need a bit of help took a big hit on the weekend esp on the tennis...robert vs brown and carsten ball in the final and also in the football, lost a total of £3000, so gnna try and get that back, gnna plce a £1000 on a double, if thers a game out ther 2 choose with decent odds cud u holla at me thnks much appreciated i was looking at the dent match? with a possible of another game

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Garcia-Lopez to beat Ilhan @ 4/5 (Betfair) Chance for GGL to get some form back here I think. He had a great patch last year where he was doing well but not so good last few months....lost to Wawrinka, Isner and Darcis this year. But while Indoor Hard is not his best surface, he has beaten some good players like Isner, Melzer, Monfils and pushed the likes of Davydenko and Soderling. Ilhan has limited experience at this level but decent record on IHC at challenger level. Has played 2 qualifiers at Rotterdam but I think GGL could be a step up in class. Leaning towards................ Korolev to beat De Bakker Maybe Giraldo to beat Sela. Haven't seen the clay odds yet.

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Two official bets for me today, small stakes though... Costa do Sauipe - Paolo Lorenzi vs Ricardo Mello: Mello at 1.70 Mello is playing at home here in Brazil and has been performing well on the clay this year. He recorded a fine win over Pablo Cuevas in Chile before losing to Alberto Martin. Previous to that though, he won a clay challenger in Sao Paulo and reached the quarters of Burcaramango. In that run he beat Joao Souza, Eduardo Schwank and Thiago Alves - all better players, in my opinion, than Lorenzi. The Italian has yet to win a game this year. although he did run Schwank close in Santiago. Both are good on the red brick but with Mello having home advantage and decent form, I'm happy to side with him. Bet strength: 3pts San Jose - Leonardo Mayer vs Ernests Gulbis: Mayer at 2.25 These two are quite similar player in lots of ways. They both like to attack and they have huge serves and groundstrokes. The reason why I favour the Argentine is because of Gulbis' mentality. He can so easily go off the boil and lose his cool. I appreciate he has a fine serve and weapons from either side but he capitulated in the Oz Open against Monaco. Mayer's proved he's a decent player indoors by getting to the quarter-finals in Valencia. The slightly slower PremierCourt they use in San Jose will suit him more than Gulbis, and I feel the odds should be closer than they are. Bet strength: 2pts

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Tanasugarn - Kudryavtseva
Selection	Tanasugarn
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Ladbrokes @ 2.00 (Back)
Reasoning	Tanasugarn is one of those players that can be very dangerous when their game clicks . Her game against the Kim at AO was superb and really it is wonder how match looks one sided if you really just look at scoreboard. In reality she dominated in most exchanges and only superb defensive performance by Kim pushed her through that match unscraped.She is able to take the ball early on the rise without spin or totally flat and I think that Kudryavtseva, which is mostly just solid player has no right answer to such stile.I watched her in the match with Radwanskon at AO, and it is clear there are simply not enough to attack the Tanasugarn and therefore this match is on the rackets of Thai.Last two seasons Tanasugarn came till quarters so i believe that this time in front of the home audience she can confirm the better form and quality.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Luczak – Chela
Selection	Luczak
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Pinnacle Sports @ 2.16 (Back)
Reasoning	I think it is quite clear that these two players are in completely different parts of their carrers.Luczak has carrer highest ranking and plays his best tennis,while on the other hand Chela is in decline for quite a long time.Difference in the quality of tennis that they both gave last week was diametrically opposit and I think it's clear to anyone who has watched their matches.For me Luczak is pure favourite in this encounter as their both share the same powerful and aggressive ground game,but Luczak is producing on higher level right now and has clear advantage in defence and on serve.
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[AntoNescU]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Sport Tennis Event (Rotterdam):Haase vs Robredo Selection Haase Strength 10/10 Date 08/02/2010 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 3.25 (Back) Reasoning Although Haase is now only on 359th place in ATP Ranking,I guess he can cause a big surprise in this tournament.Haase will play this game in their home country and this can be a great advantage for him.Robredo are now on 15th place in ATP ranking,but he disappointed at Australien Open,losing in first round with Giraldo in 3 sets.In this conditions,I believe Haase can obtain a qualification with the strong Robredo.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Kubot to beat Hernandez @ 4/6 Think Kubot has good chance of winning here. He's risen up the rankings in the last 6 months and has had fantastic results on hard and clay. Started the year well getting to the 4th round in Oz, though he was disappointing last week against Granollers. Leads Hernandez 2-0 H2H on dirt and Hernandez has really been struggling to get results in recent months. Solid clay-courter with good retrieving skills but fancy Kubot to win here if he plays a good aggressive game which he is able to do.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Still thinking about......... Korolev to beat De Bakker....price seems fairly good on Korolev.He is a far better indoor player than De Bakker. Obvious home advantage for him and you can never rule out Korolev under-performing/choking/tanking...:lol...really feel he'll win this one though but haven't pulled the trigger yet. De Bakker hasn't done well in Rotterdam in the past and has limited indoor experience. Luczak to beat Chela.....agree with post above about Chela. Feel Luczak has clear advantages here and is in better form. Watched Chela last week and his movement was really poor, while Luczak looked good in Oz and tested Monaco last week. Will watch some matches from Brasil later before deciding on this one.

[Cornell]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mischa Zverev v Igor Sijsling
Selection	Zverev (-1.5) Set Handicap (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	10bet @ 3.00 (Back)
Reasoning	Mischa Zverev didn´t impressed at all with his latest results, he didn´t impressed since the end of the last season. Now he will play against a local player Igor Sijsling who lacks a lot of experience but he is rated with equal chances against Zverev. Well, I know that Zverev´s form is the main question here but lets not forget about another very important aspect which is the experience. But also speaking about form Rotterdam will be just another new tournament, a new chance to prove better tennis, so you never can be sure about how the things will going to be. Cetain is that Zverev is just much more experienced player than Sijsling who never produced a big surprise in his carrer. From another point of view Sijsling is a more offensive player and he could a lot against Zverev´s great defence. Sijsling should be very motivated for this one, no doubts as he is playing at home and he rarely has such chances to prove his best, but still I think that experience and class should have the word here as these two aspects are just too visible here. Good Luck!

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Shame Serra fell apart. Going Dutch tonight

Sport	Tennis
Event	Tommy Robredo v Robin Haase
Selection	Robin Haase
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Sportingbet @ 3.30 (Back)
Reasoning	Haase has a lot of potential and is worth a go at this price. He's had majot injury problems but looks to be getting over them. Playing at home I'd expect a good perfomance from him. Robredo is solid, but first round might be a bit suspect and is worth opposing.

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mischa Zverev v Igor Sisjling
Selection	Igor Sisjling
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.24 (Back)
Reasoning	Zverev is on an appaling run, he's won 1 match in his last 16. This year he's played 9 sets and lost them all. Last week was pretty poor against Kukushkin and it's hard to justify him as favourite against pretty much anybody. Sisjling is quite poor, but playing at home, and having got a couple of decent wins in qualifying is worth taking as the outisder against a seriously out of form opponent.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Karatantcheva - Viratprasert
Selection	Karatantcheva - 1.5 Sets (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Paddy Power @ 1.62 (Back)
Reasoning	Sesil Karatantcheva was once number 35 in the world but doping scandal throw her out of tour for 2 years.So she is now slowly getting her game and ranking back to were she once was. Karatancheva is strong on both flanks and has physique that allowes her good movement but also some power.In first round she is playing unknown Viratprasert,who at age of 25 is going nowhere and was highest rank in 2004.This two have played last week and Karatantcheva recorded routine 2 set victory.Karatantcheva has quality and experience on her side and i cant see any other outcome than one from few days ago.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Wongteanchai - Kai.Chen Chang
Selection	Kai.Chen Chang -1.5 Sets (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betway @ 1.55 (Back)
Reasoning	Kai-Chen Chang and Wongteanchai are separated by more than 300 places on Wta list so there is no question who has more quality and experience at this level.Varatchaya played only dozen of matches last year at low Itf events and recorded just 4 wins.This will be her first Wta tour main match and she is facing opponent which is coming from her best year where she has beaten some quality players including win over former world number 1 Dinara Safina.Last week in Fed Cup she has beaten Viratprasert 61 60 and she is suposed to be better from two Thai wild cards.This really should be one sided and i cant see Wongteanchai causing her any problems at all.

[nkdz]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Leonardo Mayer - Ernest Gulbis
Selection	1
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.42 (Back)
Reasoning	I was thinking about this bet whole day and finally decided to back argentinian player. No doubt for me that Latvian has the talnt, even more that Mayer, and that his tennis is a bit more suitable for this surface, but i also can't ignore his mentality issues. I see Mayer as a much more stabile guy, much more consistent and exactly that atribute might hurt Gulbis. In any case, i wouldn't bet a penny on psycho like Gulbis, and especially at 1.70 against far more consistent player. Btw this match is scheduled in about 1 hour and 15 minutes so i hope admin will accept it.

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Leonardo Mayer - Ernest Gulbis
Selection	1
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.42 (Back)
Reasoning	I was thinking about this bet whole day and finally decided to back argentinian player. No doubt for me that Latvian has the talnt, even more that Mayer, and that his tennis is a bit more suitable for this surface, but i also can't ignore his mentality issues. I see Mayer as a much more stabile guy, much more consistent and exactly that atribute might hurt Gulbis. In any case, i wouldn't bet a penny on psycho like Gulbis, and especially at 1.70 against far more consistent player. Btw this match is scheduled in about 1 hour and 15 minutes so i hope admin will accept it.

I'm on Mayer too (see tips earlier). Agree with exactly what you say. Let's hope Leo does the business.

[nkdz]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

In San Jose, the one that caught my eye was Ernests Gulbis vs Leo Mayer. Both are very similar in the way they attack and I'd say that Gulbis has more talent, but Mayer perhaps has the better temperament. I'd have these two around the same odds so it's good value on Mayer

Gulbis definetly has more talent, but backing that nutcase at 1.70 against a guy like L. Mayer is a blasfemy IMO, so i fully agree with you that value is on Mayer. If Gulbis will be 100% focused he'll win probably in 2, but i'd like to see some indications of his improvement before i start counting on that. Don't know what's holding him back from real tennis, he's top 20 material for sure.

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mello - Lorenzi
Selection	Mello -1.5 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Bet365 @ 2.75 (Back)
Reasoning	In my opinion Mello have very good chance to take win with 2 sets margin. Mello is better form in this year - won tournament in Sao Paulo(Brazil), go to QF in Columbia and in Chile in first round won agaianst very good Cuevas 2-0. Mello is very motivated because play at home, in Brazil! Mello in career have 2 QF and one SF in this tournament. Mello in my opinion have better serve than Lorenzi. Lorenzi have better rank, but is challanger player, in ATP have balance 1-7! In this year play in 4 tournaments and lose in first rounds. Lorenzi dont like play out from Europa. Mello is left hander - this is problem for Italy player - 9/17 against left handers. In my opinion Mello have very good chance to take win 2-0 in this match!

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Llodra - Chiudinelli
Selection	Llodra -1.5 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Bet365 @ 3.00 (Back)
Reasoning	Llodra in my opinion can skills to go 2-0 in this match. Llodra in this year lost two tournaments in first rounds.. In AO go to second round, but lose after 5 sets against Monaco. Llodra waiting for Indoor hard - 31/19 balance in career, won 7 of last 10 matches! Llodra love play in Rotterdam, in 2008 won this tournament, in last year go to second round and lost against strong Monfils. Llodra play with left hand, propably this is problem for Chiudinelli. Chiudinelli in this year have balance 2-4, but won against not better players than Llodra. In last tournament in RPA lost in first round against Dustin Brown. Chiudinelli not feel good on indoor hard like Llodra - in last year have balance 8/8. At Rotterdam ATP never won Q, in my opinion in this year not go to second round. Go Llodra!

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Benneteua-Ljubicic
Selection	Benneteau to win
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	5Dimes @ 2.40 (Back)
Reasoning	In my opinion French player have good chance to take win in this match. Benneteau defending points from last year in this tournament - in last year go to QF(won against F.Lopez and Davydenko), lost with Monfils. On this surface Julien from last 50 matches have balance 30-20. In this year play good - go to SF in Sydney and second round in AO(lost against Karlovic). Ljubicic not play better in this year, in AO go to third round(won against 2 bad WC) and lost like Julien against Karlovic. At home, in Zagreb lost in second round against Lacko after 3 sets. From last 50 matches on IH like Julien have balance 30-20, but in Rotterdam not play good - in last two years out in first rounds. I see value in Benneteau!

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Berankis - Ginepri
Selection	Berankis to win
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Ladbrokes @ 3.00 (Back)
Reasoning	In my opinio this odds are wrong, I see more chances to win for Berankis. Berankis in this year have great form - in Sao Paulo on hard court go to QF(won 3 matches in Q), go to SF in Sallinas on hard court and won without problems Q for this tournament. Berankis have form and is confident before this match. Ginepri in this year play 3 matches, take only one win against Soderling, but in this moment Soderling is big out of form. In AO Ginepri lost against Hajek 3-0. Ginepri in last year in San Jose lost in first round against worst player than Berankis. I see nice value in this odds, I waiting for Lithuania player win!

[Poetik]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mello - Lorenzi
Selection	Mello -1.5 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	08/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Bet365 @ 2.75 (Back)
Reasoning	In my opinion Mello have very good chance to take win with 2 sets margin. Mello is better form in this year - won tournament in Sao Paulo(Brazil), go to QF in Columbia and in Chile in first round won agaianst very good Cuevas 2-0. Mello is very motivated because play at home, in Brazil! Mello in career have 2 QF and one SF in this tournament. Mello in my opinion have better serve than Lorenzi. Lorenzi have better rank, but is challanger player, in ATP have balance 1-7! In this year play in 4 tournaments and lose in first rounds. Lorenzi dont like play out from Europa. Mello is left hander - this is problem for Italy player - 9/17 against left handers. In my opinion Mello have very good chance to take win 2-0 in this match!

Mello 6:2, 7:5.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Sprem - Bacsinszky
Selection	Sprem
Strength	10/10
Date	09/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Paddy Power @ 2.00 (Back)
Reasoning	When you want to see where is Karolina level of play,first thing you must look is her serve as she is one of rare ladies at WTA tour whose rest of game is in such psychological connection with quality of her serve.In three matches of qualies here she served around 65% and aced her opponents 12 times so that is excellent sign for the rest of tournament.Karolina is at her best indoors as she gets most out of her ultra agressive game.She went 17-3 indoors last year and got to the 2 round here also through qualies where Serena was just to strong.Her opponent is Bacsinszky also very talented player,but she rely more on timing and angles rather then brute power like Sprem.So her game is more suited to slower surfaces where she has time to work out points or can draw errors with some crafty play.I think this matchup clearly favours Sprem as she has more power on both wings and her serve is major weapon when it is on like this weekend,conditions here suits her more and this match will be played by her terms.Also she has match practice here and better form so far this year and she should be favourite at this spot in my book.

[AntoNescU]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February Sport Tennis Event R. Berankis vs R. Ginepri Selection R. Ginepri -3.5 (Asian Handicap) Strength 10/10 Date 09/02/2010 Bookmaker/Price Pinnacle Sports @ 1.95 (Back) Reasoning So far Berankis played with modest players in last tournamnets and he is now on 255th place in ATP ranking.Ginepri disappointed at Australien Open,losing in first round with Hajek in 3 sets,but I must say he won a match with a strong player this year,at tournament from Chennai,won with Soderling in 2 sets.Is very important that Ginepri will have the public support,this tournament playing in San Jose.I guess Ginepri will not have problems with Berankis,so I try a victory with at least -3.5 AH for him. Sport Tennis Event T. Smyczek vs B. Becker Selection B. Becker -4 (Asian Handicap) Strength 10/10 Date 09/02/2010 Bookmaker/Price Pinnacle Sports @ 2.03 (Back) Reasoning Smyczek is a modest player,he being on 304th place in ATP.So far,he played this year with modest players,all over 100th place in ranking.Now he will play with a good player,Becker,which had good evolutions this year.At Australien Open he reached until 2 round,losing with Almagro in 5 sets.I say Smyczek is an inexperienced player and Becker I think will not have problems to win easy this meeting.Becker with -4 AH adjustable my bet.

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February

Two official bets for me today, small stakes though... Costa do Sauipe - Paolo Lorenzi vs Ricardo Mello: Mello at 1.70 Mello is playing at home here in Brazil and has been performing well on the clay this year. He recorded a fine win over Pablo Cuevas in Chile before losing to Alberto Martin. Previous to that though, he won a clay challenger in Sao Paulo and reached the quarters of Burcaramango. In that run he beat Joao Souza, Eduardo Schwank and Thiago Alves - all better players, in my opinion, than Lorenzi. The Italian has yet to win a game this year. although he did run Schwank close in Santiago. Both are good on the red brick but with Mello having home advantage and decent form, I'm happy to side with him. Bet strength: 3pts San Jose - Leonardo Mayer vs Ernests Gulbis: Mayer at 2.25 These two are quite similar player in lots of ways. They both like to attack and they have huge serves and groundstrokes. The reason why I favour the Argentine is because of Gulbis' mentality. He can so easily go off the boil and lose his cool. I appreciate he has a fine serve and weapons from either side but he capitulated in the Oz Open against Monaco. Mayer's proved he's a decent player indoors by getting to the quarter-finals in Valencia. The slightly slower PremierCourt they use in San Jose will suit him more than Gulbis, and I feel the odds should be closer than they are. Bet strength: 2pts

Clean sweep with both Mayer and Mello winning :beer

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 8-14 February One bet from Rotterdam for me today... Rotterdam - Marco Chiudinelli vs Michael Llodra: Llodra at 1.78 Llodra won this tournament a few years ago and although his star has waned a little, he still purports a serve-and-volley game that can be tough for players to get to grips with. Chiudinelli has recorded his best career results in the last few months but his shock defeat to Dustin Brown in Johannesburg was perhaps a sign of a mini-slump for the Swiss. He hasn't got the repetoire of ground strokes to be able to pass Llodra at the net regularly. With the Frenchman's love affair with this tournament, he's worth siding with here. They've met once before, Llodra winning on a hard court two years ago. Bet strength: 4pts I seriously considered Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (I see IAmGooner has tipped him) but he's playing a qualifier in Marsel Ilhan who has experience of these courts. Garcia-Lopez has the ability but his record indoor is poor - Ilhan's ain't much better though - and he can be a heart-attack player to follow when you have cash on him. At odds of around 1.73, he's priced in my remit, but I think I'll have to let him pass. Julien Benneteau was also tempting with Ivan Ljubicic's poor form, but I'm going to let him pass too - that match could go either way. No value in the other games for me in the Netherlands. Will be back with San Jose and Costa do Sauipe later :ok