While Bernard Tomic was busy letting me down in a final set tie-break today against Benny Becker, Juan Martin Del Potro was busy earning me money with a nervy 7-5 final set victory over the ultra-talented Belgian Xavier Malisse. Del Potro was a break down twice in the final set and was also down 5-5 0-40 on his serve in the final set. Anyone who is into tennis betting would know that Malisse is a headcase and is liable to blow up at any time, especially when ahead against a big player. DelPo won the last nine points in a row, as if to emphasise Malisse's implosion. So it was a great rebound from the Tomic loss and was much needed. Tomic was 1-4 down in the third set and gave me great hope when he broke Becker for the first time in the match to level at 4-4 in the decider before losing the final set tie break. In other matches today, Gulbis took out Baghdatis in Halle to keep our outright tip alive there. Gulbis comes up against Tommy Haas next and I will be opposing Haas there when the match arises. At the moment, Gulbis is trading close to 3.00 which is massive! Another honourable mention today has to go to Gael Monfils who took out Milos Raonic in straights which is no mean feat on grass. An impressive result.
Looking at tomorrow's matches, there are a few I am going to recommend:
Robson v Hantuchova: Laura Robson comes up against the Slovak veteran tomorrow on grass at the Aegon Classic. I think the reason Robson is available @ 1.90 is because she has a 0-2 head to head record against Hantuchova. However, Robson is an improving player while Hantuchova is in decline for sure. Grass will suit Robson too, and she will be very eager to make a good start to her grass campaign in front of a home crowd. Robson hits a big ball, and, as long as she avoids the now infamous double-faults which follow her around, I think she will have too much for her opponent. Take Robson @ 1.90
Istomin v Sijsling: I like Denis Istomin to win this one. Himself and the Dutchman have only met once before, at this year's Aussie Open where Istomin came through in 4. I think grass will suit both of them for sure and we could well be seperated by a pair of tie-breaks in this one. Istomin hits a MASSIVE ball and I think as long as his serve is ticking over, Sijsling will really struggle to break him. I think Istomin is so solid in every department and I love his game. He can slice, he serves big, moves well, and has massive ground strokes as well as a good volley. Sijsling serves well, a big lefty serve much like Llodra, but I think he can be lazy and his footwork often leaves a lot to be desired. I am expecting Istomin to break him down and I will take the Uzbeki @ 2.30 on the exchanges as a good value bet.
Rosol v Becker: I am opposing Becker again tomorrow, as I think the only reason he won today was because he had more grass matches under his belt than Tomic. Rosol has a couple of grass matches under his belt now and I think he should have too much for Becker. He serves huge and grass is good for him, as proven by last year's defeat of Rafa at Wimbledon. He is 1.90 on Betfair for this one and that is good enough for me.
There are other matches which are really tempting me tomorrow, like Benneteau to beat Lopez and Nishikori to beat Youzhny but there is something I don't trust about each of them so I will stay away for now. I think Dolgopolov is a good price @ 1.66 to beat Santiago Giraldo, who will struggle to deal with the slice and dice approach of the Ukrainian on this surface. Elsewhere, expect wins for Dimitrov, Murray, Llodra, Cilic, Nieminen, Monfils, and Federer.
As always, keep an eye on the in-play. It's almost more important than the pre-match betting as you can stumble across some serious opportunities, like DelPo today. Until tomorrow, over and out :)
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