Munich and Portugal Thursday

Wednesday's blog was the best day we have had on this site. Not only did our two recommended bets win (Dodig over Cilic @ a whopping 5.10 and Troicki over Stepanek @ 1.82), but we also steered you clear of a loser in Benoit Paire and got all four winners in Portugal correct (Ferrer, Carreno-Busta, Hanescu, and Fognini) There are not many days where anyone anywhere comes out with a 100% stike rate but today was one of them and Dodig in particular was satisfying given the 5.10 odds.

Anyway, we will keep looking forward and take a peek at tomorrow's action. The absolute highlight of tomorrow is undoubtedly the meeting of Tommy Haas and Ernests Gulbis in Munich at the BMW Open. From the very beginning I saw this as an extremely close match up and this has now been reflected given the odds of 1.95 on Gulbis and 2.05 on Haas. Initially, Haas was trading @ 2.50 on the exchanges which I was amazed at. I actually though Haas might begin as favourite (indeed he still might). This is a very finely-balanced affair. Their last meeting went to a close third set tiebreak back in Delray Beach where Gulbis eventually took the title. Haas won their only previous clay meeting and this one is in Tommy's home country. Everything points to a close match and the only reason I will be backing Gulbis is because I give him the slight advantage in terms of current form. He made very easy work of Nieminen in rd one and that win will have given him a feel for the courts whereas Haas comes in without a match under his belt. I am going to go for Gulbis in a very close affair @ 1.95.

Elsewhere in Munich, I think Mayer, Monfils, and Tipsarevic will all probably win but don't feel strongly enough about any of them to offer a recommended bet. Zemlja has beaten Tipsy before plus Monfils lost to Brands last week so they are best avoided.

Moving attention to Portugal, I think the four likely winners of tomorrows' matches are Robredo, Wawrinka, Seppi, and then probably Gastao Elias. Elias, a somewhat unknown Portuguese wildcard ranked at 113 in the world takes on Denis Istomin. I would usually opt for Istomin here but he is pretty much a donkey on this surface - his game is all about big power hitting and big serves - clay is by far his worst surface. So, I won't be actually recommending any bets in Portugal tomorrow once again despite naming who I think will be the four winners. (I was actually hoping Elias might be a backable price but he is too short @ 1.70 given his unknown status!)

To sum up, Gulbis is the only recommended bet tomorrow but only barely makes the recommended cut. If you are down to your last dime - put it in your pocket. Tomorrow is not a day to go mad with the tennis bets! Enjoy :)

PS Feel free to leave a comment anytime if you have any suggestions for the blog etc.... Maybe what you would like to see more of or if a better format might improve it etc! Thanks!