Tennis - 22-28 February

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mikhail Youzhny v Jurgen Melzer
Selection	Jurgen Melzer
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.50 (Back)
Reasoning	This seems like a very close game so I'll take Melzer. He's beaten Robredo and Cilic, and seems to be in really strong form. Youzhny too looked good today, being very solid against Tipsarevic. Mentally both are up-and-down, and this is a big match for both, but probably a bit bigger for Melzer. I think he's playing well enough to win this, so long as he turns up switched on like he did against Cilic. Decent price.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February Didn't think I'd get involved in this match but good price for Melzer here....... Melzer to beat Youzhny @ 6/4 (bet 365) See this as a 50:50 match and think Melzer is overpriced in some bookies....can see a couple of points being the difference here, maybe a tie-breaker. H2h is 3-2 in Youzhny's favour but all on clay so pretty irrelevant. Melzer has been in better form this week though IMO.....since the AO he's reached the semi's of Zagreb and 1/4's of Rotterdam and had opportunities to win both matches over Davydenko and Cilic in those tournaments. Melzer's problem has always been doing it at the crucial moments, on big points. Today against Cilic he did......had some struggles aswell as you'd expect(4-1 and break point down in first set before turning it around and choking serving for the set...:eek)....but he hung with Cilic from the baseline, served himself out of some trouble at times and mixed it up at times, deservedly winning. Youzhny has advantages from the baseline and his great backhand could match-up well against the lefty serve and groundstrokes going crosscourt....but like Melzer his shots can desert him at times aswell.....he looked down and out against Lacko in rd 1 and was far from impressive against Phau. Good win over Tipsarevic today but the Serb was played a big hand in that with poor errors. He wasn't pressed in that match really. Overall, I think Youzhny is more talented and has shown to be a bigger game player in his career.....but form, momentum in Melzer's favour....and also value in his price. Worth a shot in what should be a tight one. GL!

[mab]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Interested to see you've gone for Ferrero mate. I'm completely torn on this one. Ferrero's on a wonderful run' date=' but it's going to end soon. Almagro's flying after [i']that comeback against Gasquet and he loves Acapulco. He's going to throw absolutely everything into this game. I like the odds on Almagro but there's a voice in my head telling me to avoid him...

yeah it's going to be a tough match. i don't think his win over gasquet was so wonderful as gasquet is always a little up and down. main reason i have it on is because the match is a few hours later than the others and i'm able to put a counter bet on so i'll end up with money either way.

[Cornell]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Jurgen Melzer v Mikhail Youzhny
Selection	Melzer
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Pinnacle Sports @ 2.46 (Back)
Reasoning	Well, a great victory for Mikhail Youzhny against Tipsarevic, he impressed with quality tennis indeed but still I have to disagree with the position of the favourite before the game against Melzer. From the consistence point of view Youzhny is unstable, even here at Dubai he has proved that one more time: against Lukas Lacko played with so many errors, against Tipsarevic very few errors. Melzer on the contrary is more stable and he has proved that in all his games so far here at Dubai. Another aspect is that Youzhny could be affected by some tiredness after already eight games played in continue. From the form point of view Melzer looks great in this tournament while Youzhny did impressed in his yesterday's game and not so much before that, so certain that speak as I have mentionated about his stability which could very easy be the key in this semi-final. All in all, tennis is based a lot on stability and Melzer here is just the more stable player. Good Luck!

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Novak Djokovic v Marcos Baghdatis
Selection	Marcos Baghdatis to win a set
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Skybet @ 2.00 (Back)
Reasoning	Djokovic is playing crap this week. Seen in the last 2 matches he's been dominated early on by Troicki and Ljubicic. Baghdatis can do the same thing to him, as he seems to be playing pretty well. He was very solid yesterday in a match that could have been much tougher. Djokovic is showing a lot of fight and mentally he seems to be pretty strong this week. I'm not sure if Baghdatis can get over the line here, but I expect the match to be close and will take Baghdatis to win a set.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Baghdatis - Djokovic
Selection	Baghdatis
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Bwin @ 3.91 (Back)
Reasoning	Djokovic is really struggling with his game this week and had problems in all his matches.His game is incosistent and he came through thanks to fighting spirit and strong mentality.Yesterday he was basically out of tournament but Ljubo couldnt put ball in court on his break chances in second set and after that was mentally gone.Baghdatis also looked shaky this week and had some fitness problems at the start of the tournament,but in last round raised his game big time,he served great and his attacking game finaly clicked.When both are in top form Djokovic holds the advantage as he is mentally stronger and his serve is more secure.Both are fluent from the ground,with great movement,but i rate Baghdatis better on forehand side while Novak holds the edge on backhand.Djokovic leads h2h 3-0 and is overall more complete player,but his level isnt that great and based on their forms Cypriot should have his chances today.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Melzer to beat Youzhny @ 6/4 (bet 365)

LOSS...just not enough on big points from Melzer.

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Becker - Nieminen
Selection	Nieminen
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.90 (Back)
Reasoning	Nieminen is playing very solid tennis in last two tournaments and it look like his game is slowly getting better.He defetead Lorenzi with ease in first round and then allowed Korolev just one game in last two sets.He doesnt posses the same amount of power as Becker does,but he make up for it with better accuracy and angles.His serve although lacking in force is more reliable than one of Becker,while German also doesnt posses that great returning skills.Becker passed Nishikori in first round,but did drop second set and against opponent in much better match form he should have even more troubles.Nieminen is bad matchup for Becker as he cant do damage with his backhand side where Finn will direct most of the traffic,and he usually struggles against such solid defenders as Nieminen is.This looks like perfect spot for Yarrko to get his ranking and confidence back,so i will side with him here.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Delray Beach outright
Selection	Ivo Karlovic
Strength	10/10
Date	28/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Stan James @ 4.33 (Back)
Reasoning	Ivo is dropping bombs this week, 19 aces in 2 sets in round 1 and 26 in 2 sets in round 2. Oh, 0 double faults too. When he gets serving like this, confidence goes up and I think he can serve his way to this title. Blake in the quarters, I think he'll be a little too strong then the rest are all mugs. Ivo has a great chance of taking this.

Sport	Tennis
Event	ATP Acapulco outright
Selection	Juan Carlos Ferrero
Strength	10/10
Date	28/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Skybet @ 3.75 (Back)
Reasoning	Ferrero has the chance to do something special this week, not often a guy can take down 3 ATP titles in 3 weeks. He might be jaded but his form is phenomenal and he just needs to keep fighting for 2 more matches. The other guys in the tournament are all good, but I'll take Ferrero to come through.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Jarko Nieminen v Benjamin Becker
Selection	Jarko Nieminen -1.5 sets
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Ladbrokes @ 3.25 (Back)
Reasoning	Think Nieminen is playing pretty well here. He took a barrage of shots from Korolev early on but fought back and in the end won comfortably. This is a good chance for him to go deep in the tournament and I think he'll be comfortable against Becker today. Not sure how Becker is playing, he struggled against Nishikori and got a walkover, which isn't much to go on.

Sport	Tennis
Event	Ernests Gulbis v Leonardo Mayer
Selection	Ernests Gulbis
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Sportingbet @ 1.80 (Back)
Reasoning	I like Gulbis here. Mayer beat him a few weeks ago, but since then Gulbis has started showing some good form. He's been good here so far and I think he'll go further. Mayer seems to be playing OK too, but Gulbis has a bigger game and I'll take him to win this.

Sport	Tennis
Event	James Blake v Ivo Karlovic
Selection	Ivo Karlovic
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.24 (Back)
Reasoning	Karlovic is serving huge this week and I'll take him to beat Blake. Blake seems to be playing OK but he isn't a top player anymore, and I don't think his concentration is great. He'll need to stay focussed in a match like this and I think I would have Karlovic as the slight favourite.

Sport	Tennis
Event	Mardy Fish v Jeremy Chardy
Selection	Mardy Fish
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.75 (Back)
Reasoning	Rematch of the semi final of this tournament from last year, where Fish was a comfortable winner. He won easier than I expected against Zverev, clearly likes this tournament and seems a reasonable price here. Chardys form still seems really poor. He blew a huge lead against Giraldo, served terribly in the final set and just about managed to get the win. Think he'll struggle against Fish here so I'll take the American.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Juan Carlos Ferrero v Juan Monaco
Selection	Juan Carlos Ferrero
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.70 (Back)
Reasoning	Ferrero is still showing great form, got a good win over Almagro last night and I think he'll keep his roll going. He beat Monaco fairly comfortably last week and should get the same result tonight. monaco got a nice win over Verdasco but that Spaniard wasn't playing so well. The way Ferrero is playing he should be able to hit through Monaco.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February Youzhny +3.5 games over Djokovic @ 5/6 (10/10) Not impressed by Djokovic at all this week. He's fighting to stay in matches and his opponents are missing crucial moments to take the match. One crucial part of his game is his serve and really it's been a weakness most of the week...Baghdatis was getting opportunities on most service games. He's dropped the opening set in the last 3 rounds and went on to win. However Youzhny is a different prospect....he beat Novak a few weeks back in Rotterdam 7-6 7-6...and h2h is tied at 3-3....he also played well against Melzer today which really was a dangerous match with Melzer showing good form this week. Too solid from the back of the court today. Typically I'd give Novak the edge in rallies but Youzhny can definitely hang with him....lots of slices and down the line shots...i expect him to be competitive on Djokovic's service games aswell so opportunities for Youzhny tomorrow. I can see Youzhny winning a set and if he loses the sets will be pretty tight. 3.5 games looks a nice handicap here.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Carla Suarez Navarro v Polona Hercog
Selection	Carla Suarez Navarro -1.5 sets
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Ladbrokes @ 2.62 (Back)
Reasoning	Stand out price that seems worth taking. CSN still seems to be struggling on serve, but is returning very well and breaking opponents frequently. She is excellent on clay and now after a few wins she can start playing really well. Hercog is OK but CSN is a class above and that should show in this match.

[Yoann_Gourcuff]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February have i told you erno is the next goat:notworthycramer knows that as well:dude

[Cornell]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Juan Carlos Ferrero v Juan Monaco
Selection	Ferrero (-2) GH (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	10bet @ 1.90 (Back)
Reasoning	These two players have played recently in Buenos Aires where Ferrero has proved that he is just the more experienced player. There are no doubts about Monaco's talent as he is very talented but he still lacks the experience and the consistence many times. Ferrero has got some great confidence from all these wins in a row, at the moment he is playing with a lot of confidence on the court, a factor very important. Both players are great defenders but as I have mentionated Ferrero is just more expereinced, his shot selections is great, certain this aspect IMO count a lot in a tennis game which should be and the difference between Monaco and Ferrero. Without any doubts that this will going to be a very difficult game as both are playing some amazing tennis these days but still the experience should have the word final here. Good Luck!

[Cornell]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Venus Williams v Edina Gallovits
Selection	Gallovits (+6.5) GH (Asian Handicap)
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Bet365 @ 1.80 (Back)
Reasoning	Well, after yesterday's game Venus Williams is still overrated by the bookies with this exaggerated game handicap against a player who is in form. Edina Gallovits has played a good tournament so far, she has got some good confidence as she has three nice wins. Yesterday Venus could very easy lose the game against Laura Pous-Tio, she didn't looked at all stable, there were so many downs on her serve. As I have mentionated in my previous preview Venus is not playing at the same level on clay as on hard or grass, there is a meaningful difference but this difference is not reflected in the odds. Gallovits should surely create troubles to Venus as clay is her most favourite surface, these game handicap is exaggerated clear as Venus didn't proved a great consistence certain here at Acapulco. All in all, for this line handicap Venus will have to play with a very reduced number of errors, thing that she didn't proved so far, so IMO we have some nice value here. Good Luck!

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	David Ferrer v Fernando Gonzalez
Selection	David Ferrer
Strength	10/10
Date	26/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.04 (Back)
Reasoning	Not sure about Gonzalez's form. He's struggled in every match so far and the opposition has been no where near the level of Ferrer. So I think he'll really struggle today, with the level of play Ferrer has been producing. Ferrer was down early on, but looked very strong against Cuevas, crushed Belucci who has been in good form and played really well last week. I think Ferrer will take this, might be a tough one, but Ferrer to come through.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

have i told you erno is the next goat:notworthycramer knows that as well:dude

I wouldn't go that far:lol

[Yoann_Gourcuff]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

I wouldn't go that far:lol

i would:ok

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Novak Djokovic v Mikhail Youzhny
Selection	Mikhail Youzhny
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 3.30 (Back)
Reasoning	Youzhny looks a big price here. He's played really well this week, and is looking really strong in the tough moments. Djokovic on the other hand is playing really average. His serve isn't popping, and he's coming to the net quite a bit where he stills lacks the skills, especially on first volley. Djokovic has been fighting hand this week, and I think has put a lot of emotional energy into his matches. Also Youzhny beat Djokovic a couple of weeks ago, it was close, but Youzhny was stronger when it got close. I'm worried because this is a final, and Djokovic should step up. But at this price I'll have a go.

[Cornell]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	David Ferrer v Fernando Gonzalez
Selection	Ferrer
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Stan James @ 2.00 (Back)
Reasoning	Well, a very difficult game should be this one as these two players are very closed to each others level, but where still I think that Ferrer has better chances and he should be the favourite for this one. First of all, from the form point of view Ferrer looks better at the moment, he has been more solid so far here at Acapulco while Gonzalez was in trouble I think in all his games in this tournament, his quite increased number of errors make him unstable. Gonzalez played with quite many errors even yesterday against Schwank, he just repeated the same scenario from all his games played here at Acapulco. There are no doubts about Gonzalez great forehand but I doubt that he will from the defence point of view against Ferrer's backhand which should be the key in this game. Ferrer is just more stable on the both wings while Gonzalez possess a great forehand but his backhand is not so stable. If Gonzalez will play just the same tennis with the same number of errors as in his previous games then it will going to be very difficult for him as Ferrer's defence is very solid at the moment. Good Luck!

[mab]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Interested to see you've gone for Ferrero mate. I'm completely torn on this one. Ferrero's on a wonderful run' date=' but it's going to end soon. Almagro's flying after [i']that comeback against Gasquet and he loves Acapulco. He's going to throw absolutely everything into this game. I like the odds on Almagro but there's a voice in my head telling me to avoid him...

did you get to watch the almagro ferrero match? score line doesn't really convey how close or easy it actually was.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February Ferrer to beat JCF @ 5/6 Said I'd oppose Ferrero at some point this week and now seems like the right time. Guy has been in superb form on dirt after a terrible couple of results on hardcourt...winning in Brazil and Argentina in the last 2 weeks and now final here in Acapulco. That's alot of matches in the tank for JCF.He beat Ferrer in the final last week in a 3 setter. He's been impressive this week aswell but some signs of fatigue setting in against Monaco in the last round.....Monaco led in that set but was injured, and eventually lost the set and retired. I think Ferrer is not the player you want to face if you are getting fatigued....he will run all day and get alot of balls back, try and move JCF around the court. Ferrer has beaten Starace, Bellucci and Cuevas in straights before beating Gonzalez in the smi's last night. Good form, he looks in good shape, has a 5-2 winning h2h with JCF and 2-1 on clay. Chamce for Ferrer to take the title here. GL!

[AndrewMurray]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February i wouldnt place a single penny on youzhny guys i think you are wrong here, djokovic was extraordinary yesterday,you didnt watch the match probably, i cant find any explanation on "average" concerning djoko's performance, ok baghdatis created 11 break chances in second set and won one only, but none of the other 10 were missed by baghdatis mistakes, it was djoko that saved them Dont be mad to place money on youzhny, class difference is enormous on djokovic side, for me no bet, i have better options in football today good luck !

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February corinne dentoni to beat soler espinosa at 5-6 paddypowers! 1 point nina bratchikova to beat lenka wienerova at 11-10! 1 point! no time to explain

[Borovnica]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Youzhny - Djokovic
Selection	Youzhny
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 3.40 (Back)
Reasoning	Alhough i"m scared to go against Djokovic again as he showed how strong mentally he is this week,but he failed to impress with his tennis.He plays in even worse form here than in Rotterdam two weeks ago,while Youzhny on other hand looks in better form and he was victorius on that occasion.Conditions here should normally suit Djokovic better as he is more consistent while Youzhnny posses more power,but this week Serbian is playing wild tennis and makes plenty of errors.He is serving poorly and allowed plenty of chances to opponents but all three failed to take advantage of that.Youzhny looks better in every department this week and even if Djokovic steps up his game,this should be close so i have to take nice odds on Russian.

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February voracova dementieva double paddypower 5-6 3 points!! voracova has had a good year so far!!she qualified for the australian open beating vives and cemerin on the way to doing that before getting beaten comfortably by petkovic!!she also beat parmentier last week!! panova is a poor opponent who could barely get a win last year and hasn't set the world a light this year either!!! dementieva should have too much class for the feisty kleybanova who is a great fighter and a deceptively good mover but is still not in the same league as elena!!

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Ernests Gulbis v Jarko Nieminen
Selection	Jarko Nieminen
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 2.68 (Back)
Reasoning	Good chance of upset I feel. Gulbis is playing pretty well, but with pressure on towards end of tournament it's tough to like him. Also after match yesterday he said he is having a bit of trouble with his knee. Nieminen is fighting hard this week, with a couple of 3 setters. He seems to be playing OK but not great. H2H is 2-0 to Gulbis, but I think this match up can work for Nieminen, and I'll take a chance at this price.

[Cramer]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February

Sport	Tennis
Event	Venus Williams v Polona Hercog
Selection	Polona Hercog
Strength	10/10
Date	27/02/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 4.20 (Back)
Reasoning	Don't know what's going on with Venus, she's having some real strugglies this week. She definately doesn't seem to have the form she did in Dubai. She's very good in finals which is a worry, but I still think chance of upset is reasonable. Hercog is having a great week, beat Cornet and CSN without many problems and is in the final of the doubles. She could have a beautiful day, so let's try to cash in with it.

[bet_man]

Re: Tennis - 22-28 February Dementieva - Kleybanova Dementieva won two tournaments so far this year. In this tournament she didn't lose a set. On the other hand Kleybanova lost two sets in this tournament. I don't think kleybanova is so much better than the players , which dementieva already beat them in this tournament. Dementieva to beat kleybanova @1.24 ( pinnaclesports ) Strenght : 10/10