The picture above shows Ernests Gulbis on the phone to TennisBacker, giving us the lowdown on Saturday's action - he promises he will beat Tipsarevic tonight so that is enough for me!!
All joking aside, we will focus on the second round in Indian Wells, and only look at Saturday's matches today, where there are some interesting contests in the pipe-line. From a betting point of view, there are two I am going to recommend, but, depending on you preferences, there are many matches where you could get involved with your buck. Thankfully, today also marks the beginning of the TV coverage at the Masters 1000 - it is so frustrating that the entire qualifiers and first round leave us consigned to watching a live scoreboard!
Anyway, the match-ups of note today are as follows: Isner v Hewitt, Istomin v Federer, Janowicz v Nalbandian, Tomic v Gasquet, Verdasco v Nieminen, Gulbis v Tipsarevic, and Seppi v Brands. At the moment, it is only the latter two matches I will be recommending, but all of those ties have potential for a punt if you fancy it. Going right through that list, gun to head, I would take Isner, Federer, Nalbandian, Gasquet, Verdasco, Gulbis, and Seppi.
I think/hope that Istomin can make at least one set close v Federer, and I believe he can given his excellent form so far this season. So, if you are inclined, you could back Istomin with the handicap, or else back that there will be a tiebreak. Isner does not represent good value at 1/2 given that his form is not amazing and that Hewitt believes he can beat him. I think the giant American will come through but I am staying away from it. Janowicz v Nalbandian is an exciting match-up. Nalbandian is one of the absolute best returners in the history of tennis, and his groundstrokes are text book. The only thing that worries me with this Argentine is the six inches of grey matter between his two ears! He can be very up and down as we know, but then again, Jerzy Janowicz is not exactly a world beater. I think everyone is showing far too much love for Janowicz, who this time last year was on the challenger tour, and I think Nalby will be too good for him on this slow hard court surface.So he is definitely worth a punt at about 1.80. With Tomic and Gasquet, I think Gasquet will probably pull through as his game is at a more advanced level in his career than Tomic's but the Aussie represents the value here at 3.00 on the exchanges in a match that will be very tight. So, stay away from it altogether unless you believe Tomic will win. I won't be backing this match as my head tells me Gasquet will come through but I know that Tomic is the real value so there is too much confusion and mixed feelings!! This court should suit Fernando Verdasco more than it will suit Jarrko Nieminen given its relatively slow surface, but this match is again too much of an unknown for me. If you want a bet, go with Verdasco at odds against, but his form is unknown and I won't be backing it.
Moving on to the two matches I will be recommending. Ernie Gulbs overcame Deliciano Lopez in rd 1 on a comfortable 2 and 3 scoreline. While I don't think he will have it as easy against Janko Tipsarevic, I do think he will progress. His form, as we all know has been unbelievable, he is on an eleven match winning streak at the moment! Tipsarevic's form has been deplorable. Now, I did think that we would get very very close to even money on Gulbis, but I am going to take the 1.88 on offer as I believe this is a player oozing confidence and more determined than ever before. He can live with the big guns of men's tennis and I think he can and will overpower Tipsarevic. I am taking Gulbis for a reasonable stake at 1.88. The last match on my list, Andreas Seppi v Daniel Brands represents another good chance to make a few bob with Seppi available at 1.85 on the exchanges. Brands took out Marcos Baghdatis in rd 1 which was a complete surprise, but I think Seppi will school him here in round two. Seppi has so much experience, makes very few errors, and is what I would call a good pressure player. He seems to step up to the plate in the big moments. He will also relish the slower surface here in IW. Brands has a massive serve and is certainly improving but I think Seppi will have too much for him and will be able to see himself over the line. Expect the young German's run to come to an end.
Recommended bets:
Ernests Gulbis to beat Janko Tipsarevic @ 1.88
Andreas Seppi to beat Daniel Brands @ 1.85
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