US Open Monday (Day 1)

Monday brings about the first day's action from the 2013 US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York City I will be posting daily selections based not only on value but on liklihood of winning also. For the purpose of this blog, there is no point giving a good value 6/1 shot if it doesn't have a decent chance of winning - people don't want that since all I'm ever asked about is the "certs for tomorrow"! So I am looking for value primarily on favourites, pick 'em, or at least relatively close matches. Here are Monday's, and before I begin, I'm just pointing out that Monday is not a great day betting-wise so keep it in the pocket until we see what Tuesday has to offer anyway:

(note all prices quoted below are best available)

Albert Ramos v Bernard Tomic: Tomic can be had @ 2/5 in a match where I think he is a 1/5 shot. This is a Grand Slam, it's on a hard court, and he is a million times better than Albert Ramos who is more at home in an ATP 250 on clay.... Tomic easy.

Mikhail Kukushkin v Andrej Martin: Somehow Stan James are giving 2/5 on Kukushkin here - he is 1.33 to lay on Betfair! So a bit of a slip up on their part. Kukushkin came through qualifying while Martin only gets in as a lucky loser. Expect Kukushkin to crush him and get on the 2/5 if you can

Verdasco v Dodig: I thought some of the tennis Verdasco played against Monfils in Winston-Salem last week was of a good standard and his form has been good in general the last few months. 4/7 is a good price to beat Ivan Dodig, probably in 4 sets.

Giraldo v Berlocq: Berloqc hasn't played a match in months - he has been out with an injury, while Giraldo has notched a few good wins on hard. 9/10 is a good price in my opinion. Giraldo would probably be 6/4 if both players were fit, but Berlocq is not at his best and this could be a rout! But still, approach it with care - at the end of the day, it is still 2 clay courters on a hard court!

Tommy Robredo v Marinko Matosevic: I have been impressed with Matosevic's form the last few months, but this is a Grand Slam and Tommy Robredo always seems to find a way to get the job done. I think he will progress past Matosevic and am happy to take the 8/13 available, but it will be a close affair. I think Robredo in five.

If you want a look at an outside shot for Monday, take one of Kuznetsov (5/2) to beat Dudi Sela or Serra (6/1) to beat Lopez. I definitely like Serra to get a set so over 3.5 sets @ 6/5 wouldn't be a bad shot here.

Good luck Monday :)