Friday at Munich & Portugal

Gulbis v Haas proved to be the close encounter we thought it would be. I didn't see the match but, by all accounts, the verteran German more than deserved his place in the QFs. Haas is a quality player and I regret not taking him @ 2.50 when I had the chance two days before this match. Anyway, in other action today, Monfils lost to Brands as we said he might! In Portugal, we got all four matches correct, but there were no recommended bets, mainly due to restrictive prices.

Tomorrow sees QF action taking place in Munich and Portugal. There are only one or two interesting matches from a betting point of view in my opinion - a lot of 1.4s which are just too low and one or two 50/50s where my opinion just isn't strong enough to make a recommendation. Let me tell you who I think will be the winners tomorrow: I think Tipsarevic, Haas, and Dolgopolov will all win in Munich but I remain pretty much undecided on the Kohlschreiber v Troicki match. Because I see that as almost a 50/50, I will be backing Troicki and recommending him because he is available on the exchanges @ 3.52. Troicki is more comfortable on clay than Kohlschreiber - he is more suited to it. Granted Kohly is defending champ here and has a 3-1 head to head over Troicki, but I am going to take the Serb @ 3.50 for a small stake. It is a value bet. Dolgopolov is another one I will back in Munich tomorrow. He is available @ 1.52 to beat Dodig and I think he will. I think clay might well be the Dog's best surface and he has a drop shot to die for! Take him to end Dodig's run.

In Portugal, I think Wawrinka, Ferrer, and Fognini will all win but again, none of these stoke the flames for a bet as they are too short in price. The only match where I might have a bet is the Seppi v Robredo affair. It is a hard one to call. I think Seppi is a better all round player than Robredo. I saw his match today and he hammered Falla, delivering bakery products in the second set. Having said that, Robredo is in his best form for years, and clay is his surface. I am so close to tipping Seppi in this match but it is too close to call and I can make a strong case for both players so I am going to avoid it!

Recommended bets for tomorrow are Troicki to beat Kohlschreiber @ 3.50 (small stake) and Dolgopolov to beat Dodig @ 1.52. Enjoy the tennis :)