Tennis - 12-18 July

[Atko]

Men's clay court events from Bastad and Stuttgart, while the women head to the red brick of Palermo and Prague. Fill yer boots chaps :ok

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - 12-18 July Early antepost selections from me... Bastad: Outright There's actually quite a decent field heading to Bastad on paper but I can't see past the winner of last year's event and the top seed: Robin Soderling. He's in the weaker half of the draw and the other top player is David Ferrer. I feel Soderling would have the edge on Ferrer on home soil - he'll be able to hit through the Spaniard's defences, and he also leads the H2H 6-2. His route to the final would probably read Vinciguerra, Starace and Ferrer, which would be a decent warm-up to face either Nicolas Almagro or Fernando Verdasco, who look the likely contenders from the bottom half. I reckon Almagro poses the biggest threat - he's fresh, does well on clay and beat Verdasco recently at Roland Garros. I'd be happy to make a play on him each way too at decent odds of 6.00. Soderling's price is appropriately short at 2.50 but he's proven on this surface and won't fear anyone in the draw. Hard to see past the defending champion. Selections: - Robin Soderling to win Bastad at 2.50 with Stan James (5/10) - Nicolas Almagro to win Bastad each way at 6.00 with Stan James (2/10) Stuttgart: Outright This tournament has a wide-open feel about it for me. Nikolay Davydenko is the top seed but he's struggling for fitness and sharpness. His draw isn't kind either - will probably face Jeremy Chardy, who won this last year, and Victor Hanescu en route to the semis. If he gets through that, he'll be fatigued and it could open the door to an outsider. Philipp Kohlschreiber is a dangerous player on clay and on home soil and although he faces a tough route through (Florian Mayer, followed by Gael Monfils), I reckon he can take both of them. Kohlschreiber is a confidence player and will get better if racks up wins. The bottom half looks weak with Jurgen Melzer, Albert Montanes and Juan-Carlos Ferrero the main players. All are decent on clay but I can see them grinding each other down in a section that also includes Gilles Simon and Juan Ignacio Chela. I reckon it'll pay to side with an outsider here and the draw could perhaps open up for Kohlschreiber. He has good form on clay this year and will enjoy playing in Germany. Selection: - Philipp Kohlschreiber to win Stuttgart each way at 9.00 with Stan James (1/10) :hope