Beyond's ATP Tennis 2007 Picks!

[BeyondTheGame]

Ok I've decided to get back into Tennis now - Just for a bit of fun to see how I do.

ATP Valencia - 1st Round

3 * Mayer, Florian v Ventura, Santiago - Mayer, Florian to win 2-0 @ $1.75

These two have played each other once in the past in Wimbledon where Mayer was able to win in straight sets. The only thing I dont like about this match is Mayer hasnt played on a clay court since September last year. However he has been able to draw up some excellent results in the past on Clay. I refer to his perfomance in Poland last year where he went on to beat Robredo, Chela, Calleri and went on into the final to lose to Davydenko in 3 sets. Santiago has been in a numerous amount of Clay challangers recently however he hasnt drawn up any big wins to get me excitied and I dont think he will bring one on today. In Challangers Santiago hasnt gotten past the Quarter Finals stage. Expect for Mayer to be too much for Santiago.

3 * Korolev, Evgeny v Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo - Korolev, Evgeny to win @ $1.88

Odds have changed a bit to declare Garica-Lopez as a favourite now. I guess people feel like Garcia-Lopez is the better man on Clay. I disagree with this if this match was back in September last year I would've said yes to Garcia-Lopez here but Korolev in my mind has been better than Garcia-Lopez. Although Garcia had a good showing at the Indian Wells Masters. I just get the feeling that Evgeny would be entering this game with the intent of returning to better form following that horrible 6-0, 6-0 loss to Jarkko.

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Valencia - 1st Round

3 * Volandri, Filippo v Andreev, Igor - Volandri, Filippo to win @ $2.10

Entering into this game the head to head count is 1-1. Sure Volandri hasnt had the best season this year. But Igor has hardly had any real match practice entering into this game. He is coming off a very tough 5 set Davis Cup match against Grosjean a match he lost on clay. But since Febuary he has only played 2 competitive games of tennis both of which he has lost. Secondly I like my chances with the Italian to show up today and put on a show for the home crowd. It could be the kick start Volandri needs.

[BeyondTheGame]

Korolev won 6-3 1-6 6-3 WIN!
Mayer lost 3-6 3-6
Volandri won 6-4 7-6(8)

YTD: 2-1 (1 Game Pending)
Profit: +2.94 Units

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Houston - 1st Round

3 * Grosjean, Sebastian v Hartfield, Diego - Grosjean, Sebastian to win @ $2.00

Basically I prefer experince here. Grosjean is no stranger to Houston's clay court here. He got to the final back in 2007. Although he does enter this game after playing a 5 setter against Igor (and winning) Since his hamstring injury he has taking it slow and steady and the win against Igor would've boosted his confidence. Diego is a player most people know from the challanger scene and also the clay scene in South America. But he hasnt shown any decent results this season - that give him a decent enough chance here. I believe the reason why he is favourite here is people are questioning Sebs hamstring after playing a 5 set match. I think Seb comes out today and gets a win on a court he knows pretty well.

[BeyondTheGame]

Grosjean lost 2-0

YTD: 2-2
Profit: -0.06 Units

ATP Valencia - 2nd Round

3 * Navarro Paster, Ivan v Gensse, Augustin - Navarro Paster, Ivan to win 2-0 @ $1.70

This looks like a rather good play to me consiering Augustin enters this game having played back to back 3 set games. and Navarro although been the 'Lucky Loser' to get into the tournament from qualifying showed that he can be a bit more lucky with his win over Daniele Bracciali in straight sets! I cant see him slipping up here.

[BeyondTheGame]

Navarro Paster won 2-0 WIN!

YTD: 3-2
Profit: +2.04 Units

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Monte Carlo - 1st Round

3 * Rochus, Oliver v Soderling, Robin - Soderling, Robin to win @ $1.70

Soderling is one of my favourite players on tour and he has been resting up pretty well he is coming off a Davis Cup match victory from a week or two ago. Last year Soderling was able to beat off some big names I expect him to do the same here. It will be interesting to see how Rochus goes against the power hitting Sweed here as he is coming off a foot injury and I dont think the clay surface will be kind to him espically when facing a power hitter like Soderling.

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Monte Carlo - 1st Round

3 * Monfils, Gael v Stapanek, Radek - Monfils, Gael to win @ $2.15

I really enjoy watching Monfils and we saw last year just how good he can be on the clay surface we witnessed an amazing run to the 4th round in the frence open, where he managed to knock off big names James Blake and Andy Murray. Also in Rome he also chalked up some huge wins against, Hass, Ginepiri and Roddick. Stapanek has struggled to get far into the tournament when playing in Monte Carlo. Although Monfils has a relatively bad record we must note he only started to hit form just before the Frence open so I think he is more of a chance here than he has been in previous tournaments.

[BeyondTheGame]

Thank god Monfils retired.

Soderling won 2-0 WIN!
Monfils Retired - Bet Void!

YTD: 4-2
Profit: +4.14 Units

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Monte Carlo - 1st Round

3 * Massu, Nicolas v Volandri, Filippo - Massu, Nicolas to win @ $2.00

Ok first of all the bad thing about this play and most likely the reason why Volandri enters as the favourite is he holds a 4-1 lead over Massu however the last time these two played was back in 2005. I believe Volandri has dropped off since then. Furthermore Volandri retired from the Valencia ATP tournament last week with a Stomach Bug. He made it to the 3rd round but in my honest opinion was lucky to get past Koubek as he retired in his game in the 2nd round. I feel that Volandri could struggle in this game as he has struggled against players ranked in the top 50 this season. Volandri has yet to beat a top 50 player this season as well. Sure Massu is coming off an injury as well, but if you saw highlights of that game he was looking great and the only real reason why he retired was 2 and half hours earlier he took 2 hours and 40 minutes to win his way in the final. The good thing from what I have read is that the trainer said there wasnt any realy muscle soreness there from what he could tell. Lets hope Massu comes out and fires up and gets the win if he dosnt fire up lets hope he retires and the bet is voided.

3 * Portas, Albert v Hrbaty, Dominik - Hrbaty, Dominik to win @ $1.70

Lets start with the good news first for this one, Hrbaty has a 2-1 head to head record against Portas however the last game was back in 2002. Portas has had to go through back to back 3 setters to get here. (1 match his opponent retired in the 3rd set which was the 1st qualifying match) Portas has recently had sturggles on the challanger curcuit and hasnt had too much go his way. Hrbaty is coming off a rather good game against a very poor opponent in a Davis Cup tie but I believe that will work in his favor as it will build up his confidence which I believe he is lacking after some poor showings this season. One thing I like about Hrbaty though is I feel the Clay court will work out in his favor he does hit a lot of power shots which will trouble Portas on Clay and I like the fact that he is also a short 6ft tall. Portas is 6ft 2 and I always have the opinion that on clay courts the advantage usually does go to the smaller player. Lets see if that mind of thought is correct today.

[BeyondTheGame]

Hrbaty wins 7-6(3), 7-5 WIN!
Massu wins 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 WIN!

YTD: 6-2
Profit: +9.24 Units

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Monte Carlo - 3rd Round

3 * Ferrer, David v Djokovic, Novak - Djokovic, Novak to win @ $1.57

The head to head between these two is 1-1 with Djokovic winning the last match just a few weeks ago at Indian Wells. These two have met once on clay but it was back in 2004 and Ferrer got the win there. I'm going to be banking on Djokovic to win here despite the fact he went to 3 sets in his last match. I also think he is strong enough to get a well deserved win over Ferrer.

[BeyondTheGame]

ATP Monte Carlo - 3rd Round

3 * Andreev, Igor v Ferrero, Juan Carlos - Ferrero, Juan Carlos to win @ $1.88

I think everyone is making a big deal over Igor beating Gonzo - Igor has had the wood on Gonzo in the past, and it wasnt as much of a suprise as people are making it out to be. Juan Carlos in a way deserves to have odds like this due to his performance in Valencia where he lost in the 2nd round but I believe having the break leading into this tournament will benefit him and it has shown in his last two matches against Massu & Henman where he looked convining on his way to a straight sets win. I'm guessing Igor Andreev has a let down here after playing a big 3 set match.

[BeyondTheGame]

Djokovic is hopeless at times.

Djokovic loses 5-7, 4-6 (after being a break up in the first)
Ferrero wins 6-3, 6-3 WIN!

YTD: 7-3
Profit: +8.88 Units

[Benrik]

Keep up the good work, BTG. BTW, do you have any idea what happened to Corey?