So it was a wishy washy first day in Australia with 3 wins and 3 losses which is not really what we are after here and hopefully we can improve on day 2. Looking back on it now, two of the recommendations from day 1 were probably a bit silly, namely the Kukushkin one to get a set and the set betting prediction in Tipsarevic - Hewitt. It just emphasised the point that simply picking a winner in a two horse race is the way to go. (We were three from four in match odds markets with only Giraldo letting us down. Verdasco, Baker, and Bautista-Agut all obliged)
Looking back on the tennis from day one, (and I didn't see much of it myself due to work/time difference), all the favourites pretty much came through with the exception of Juan Monaco and that is one I am disappointed not to have recommended. He was hammered by Kuznetsov and was clearly still struggling with injury. There were a couple of five setters and some good performances, none more so than Julien Benneteau who knocked out the mercurial Grigor Dimitrov who will be very disappointed not to have made it past the first hurdle.
On day 2, I have made several selections again, mostly odds against, and one odds-on shot. I will take Benjamin Becker to overcome Bedene, Klizan to turn his form around against Daniel Brands, Stakhovsky to upset the odds against Berankis, Zemlja to beat his fever and Marcel Granollers, Gael Monfils to out-duel The Dog in what I expect to be a thriller, Istomin to hit through Sijsling, and finally Benoit Paire + 8.5 games against Federer in what will be the GOAT's season opener. To justify a couple of those selections quickly, I think Becker has been playing very well and has plenty of experience. Bedene is an up and comer also in good form but the bookies are being slightly generous here. Martin Klizan hasn't been in good form but I think the limelight of a Grand Slam might bring about a change in his fortunes and he can go the whole five sets against his 200kg+ opponent in searing heat no problem! Berankis is rightly the favourite against Stakhovsky but seems to constantly under-achieve and if Stakhovsky can serve well and be aggressive, then he has a wonderful chance. Istomin will beat Sjisling, probably with the odd break here and there and more than one tie-break, but I am willing to take 1.5 on it. Zemlja is a dark horse and was magnificent in Doha. Put simply, if he turns up here playing his A game, then he wins. He was sick for Brisbane but looks to have put that behind him now and I think will come through here against the inconsistant Spaniard. Monfils has all the capabilities to beat Dolgopolov in a match that, to be fair, could go either way, but Monfils is 6/4 and looked good taking out Haas in Sydney! Paire will give Federer more of a run around than most people believe, and I think will beat the 8.5 game handicap.
Recommended bets:
Benjamin Becker to beat Aljaz Bedene 1pt @ 2.26
Martin Klizan to beat Daniel Brands 1pt @ 2.28
Sergiy Stakhovsky to beat Ricardis Berankis 1pt @ 2.58
Denis Istomin to beat Igot Sjisling 2pts @ 1.5
Grega Zemlja to beat Marcel Granollers 1pt @ 2.5
Gael Monfils to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 1pt @ 2.42
Benoit Paire +8.5 games to beat Roger Federer 1pt @ 2.1
Enjoy the tennis and please, feel free to leave some comments! Thanks for reading the blog.
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