Dudi Sela is not a player who can easily handle the matches in best of 5, as he doesn’t possess such good stamina and generally never had much success at the Grand Slams. Last year he got eliminated from US Open in the first round already, which on one hand carries smaller pressure before this USO, but also less motivation as he isn’t defending any points. As far as the surface is concerned, hard is definitely his favorite as he has the best record there, however, such record is mostly based on the challengers where he played a lot this year. Considering that, one can’t make too many conclusions about his form, but certainly he lacks some quality in his game and only at times he is able to make comebacks and put up good performances. All in all, beside his experience, I don’t see what else could help him here unless his fighting spirit clicks in.
Stable
Experienced Belgian played well on hard this season, especially in Washington and Atlanta, while he was unlucky and had to retire the match to his opponent in his first match at the most recent tournie in New Haven. If we leave that failure aside, Xavier Malisse is a much more stable and currently in better form than his opponent. This year he participated at almost all top tournaments, and recently even reached the semis in Washington, so an improvement in his play is obvious. It seems like he is getting back in shape from a few years ago and he surely won’t settle for a quick exit from this year’s USO.
Close match
The difference in the ATP rankings is obvious in Malisse’s favor and I think that both of these players have certain things in their game that doesn’t suit the opponent. The match will probably be intense but should end in the Belgian’s favor, especially because of his greater stamina. This fact is also proven by the fact Sela recently defeated Malisse in 3 tough sets in LA, and now that Malisse knows how to handle him, he should have the edge in a much longer match, so I think he shouldn’t have any problems in defeating him this time. Good luck!
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Prediction:
Tip: 2
Odd: 1.83
Bookie: Paddy Power
Anif are one of the best teams in Regionalliga West and it`s normal that local specialists predict sunny days for them. Forwards Hubl and Scherz should prove their worth and it`s time for Anif to win for first time at home this season, after drawing with Bregenz on the season opener. Wins over Dornbirn and Wacker Innsbruck away from home showed signs of recent development, so maybe today will be one good day for Anif.
Disappointing since the start
St. Johann have difficulties this year, as the team managed to win only 3 points to date. The home win against Hochst couldn`t be marked as a superb one, so TSV should fight for their reputation. Away losses to Wattens, Neumarkt and Austria Salzburg are a big setback for the team`s mission to occupy the middle of the table and it`s piece of bad news that today they will once again play away from home.
Anif should break the bad tradition
Anif were unable to win against St. Johann in the last 4 head-to-head matches, but now they have a good opportunity to change this. With Hubl, Scherz and Celebic up front Anif could rely on profilic forward trio, that could give a tough time for the guests` defensive line, that had been unconvincing in the away games. A win here for the home side will send them in the top spot fight, so there will be no motivation problems ahead of the team. I think they are able to achieve it.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1
Odd: 1.80
Bookie: Vierklee
Although they lost to Argentina by only 2 last night, during the first half they were a much better rival and put up a powerful display. Maric failed to deliver yesterday unlike the day one when he scored over 20 points and together with excellent Anderson in the paint, I don’t see how they can be guarded for all 40 minutes. When I add to that that Eangles was in a great mood last night (9pts) and especially Mills (15pts), adding Nielsen who is ought to play better as well as Alex, it’s really hard to imagine this team will lose tonight.
Persistent Germans
The Germans have displayed two very solid performances, playing very tough and organized but I have to emphasize that they score many points without even knowing how they did it, and I have the impression they will hardly repeat that today. To make the long story short, last night their key players played almost 40 mins each: Jagla 39, Green 34, Hamann 32 and Shafarchik 31, and they don’t really have such depth so I don’t expect them to be fresh and ready for this clash.
Kangaroos to snatch the win thru their centers
Perović last night demolished the Germans from the paint and they seem to have a very hard time defending that position, and Australia has even a bigger advantage compared to Serbia. Last night, the Aussies were defeated to a decent Argentina side only by 2 points, even though they were a lot better rival during the first half, putting up a great display so the handicap really looks too low as I feel the Aussies are a much better rival, as the Germans have already scored too many lucky points against Serbia, which is in a much worse condition without their two key players (Krstic, Teodosic)… I suggest you an easy win for Kangaroos, maybe by double digits. Good luck!
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Prediction:
Tip: 1
Odd: 1.85
Bookie: Bwin
Tim Smyczek will make his Grand Slam debuts at the U.S. Open after winning the U.S. Open Wild Card Playoff on Friday at the USTA Training Center in Boca Raton. Smyczek outplayed second-seeded Ryan Harrison to earn his coveted U.S. Open main draw wild card. “I`ve played qualifying at the U.S. Open a couple of times and I`m going to try to treat this the same way because I think that`s the best way of going about it.“ – Smyczek said. “I`m thankful for the opportunity and I hope I`ll make something of it.“ The American started making career progress this year, reaching two Challenger finals and qualifying for three ATP Tour-level events, San Jose, Indian Wells and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles last month, Smyczek took a set from No. 4-ranked Andy Murray before losing their second-round match in three sets. Reports said that Smyczek was in good form against Harrison. The problem for American is that he hasn’t much experience against left hander and he is only 5/8 in his career in Challenger circuit with 1/3 this year.
Bellucci is ready for US open
Bellucci is 1/3 on hard recently, his only win came to Becker in Cincinnati and twice he reached the second round in US Open, last year as a qualifier, losing to top players like Del Potro and Simon. “I`ve been training very well these days, both the court and physically. I feel very well prepared and motivated for the premiere and for the tournament.” – said left-handed for finalsports.com. Despite knowing little of the second opponent, Bellucci knows he will be facing an expert player on the court hard and fast. “He enters as a sniper in the game. He played a few high-level tournaments this season and have nothing to lose.” – said the Brazilian.
Bellucci have all the weapons to win
The odds on American are very tempting but he has a poor record against left hander and I see the Brazilian as the likely winner. I back Bellucci with handicap.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2 AH (-5 games)
Odd: 2.04
Bookie: Pinnacle
Big achievement for the Canadian as he managed to qualify for the main draw in the US Open from the first attempt. He beat Zverev, Bogomolov and Guez in his road. He fired 35 aces with 10 double faults and won an average of 63% points behind the serve and improved a lot in retrieving compartment which is a good thing for him. Raonic played the final in Granby and he looked cold after that losing to Kendrick and to Hanescu in Toronto but he looked in strong form in qualification. He will meet Ball who received a WC here as a compensatory for AO.
Australia hope
Ball reached last year`s ATP Los Angeles final and joined countryman Chris Guccione to reach last year`s US Open men’s doubles quarter-finals and also reached the second round as a qualifier losing to Djokovic. Ball too looked in good form with a semi-final in Aptos and a title won in Lexington and then lost twice to Klahn, in Binghamton and New Haven qualifications. The problem here for Raonic is that Ball is a left hander and he hasn’t much experience against left hander, he is 1/3 in Challenger circuit overall. The Aussie has a powerful serve and has good hands to the net and is hard to pass him having a wide reach, but also the Aussie can stay solid in long exchanges, he has wins over Levine, Polansky, Sirianni recently. “I have been looking forward to the US Open since last year when I played Novak Djokovic in the second round.“ – Ball said. “I know I lost the match but it was a great learning experience and something that I think has helped me develop as a player. So I am really keen to test my game against the best players in the world in grand slam conditions.“
Clear outcome
The Aussie has more experience and has a better serve and even that Raonic improved his retrieving aspects, Ball is a left hander and I back Ball to take this one.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2
Odd: 2.13
Bookie: Sbobet
Probable starting eleven: Viviano; Esposito, Portanova, Britos, Rubin; Casarini, Mudingayi, Ekdal, Garics; Di Vaio, Gimenez. It was a great surprise when new owner Sergio Porcedda decide to fired coach Colomba last week. The team will be temporary lead by youth team boss Paolo Magnani. I am not sure this was a good idea, but the time will show. During the summer transfer period some new players sign for Bologna – Albin Ekdal, Gyorgy Garics and Matteo Rubin are the most important acquisitions. It is also important to be mentioned that veteran striker Marco Di Vaio stay in the club. Now the question is if Bologna better then last season. My opinion is yes.
First defeat fo Benitez in Super Cup
Probable starting eleven: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu; Zanetti, Cambiasso; Eto’o, Sneijder, Pandev; Milito. Inter started the season very good by beating Roma in Italian Supr Cup with 3:1. But the last Friday was “black Friday”. Inter didn`t manage to win the fourth trophy as they lost from Atletico Madrid in UEFA Super Cup. I am sure the new coach Rafa Benitez and all the players are disappointed now. However, one thing is sure – the departure of Jose Mourinho is big handicap for Inter.
Bologna can stay unbeaten
I think Bologna can stay unbeaten against the champion. I see three reasons for my pick. First of all, Bologna is playing at home, on Renato Dall`Ara Stadium. Bologna will have big support from the fans and it is an important factor. The second reason is Inter. The defeat from Atletico Madrid at Friday showed Inter isn`t like last season. There will be big pressure on coach Benitez, everybody is comparing him with Mourinho and I am sure he is little frustrated. And it is always difficult to play in such situation. And the third reason is based on the fact that Inter players are more tired. They played against Atletico Madrid at Friday, then traveled to Milan at Saturday, and just the next day traveled to Bologna. Because of that I think very motivated Bologna players are able to stay unbeaten at home.
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Prediction:
Tip: x
Odd: 3.90
Bookie: Pinnacle
Karpaty made one of the biggest surprises in the Europa League qualifiers, eliminating Galatasaray. Now the Ukrainians are preparing for the group stage, from where they could only benefit. On domestic stage, things are also doing fine, as the Lviv team was able to negate the effect of the pre-season 9 points deduction. From now on they should concentrate on climbing the table and the home game against newcomers Volyn looks like the most comfortable first step.
Having problems in the elite
Volyn are 13th in the standings, but that`s only because Karpaty and Metalist were deducted by 9 points. Soon the Lutsk side will face the bitter reality and if their performance is not boosted, then a quick return to Persha Liga will be on the cards. Volyn have scoring problems, as they have netted only twice in their first seven games. The only win was achieved over Metalurg Zaporozhya away from home.
Karpaty to go out with confidence
Karpaty are surely now one very confident side and nothing but win would satisfy them. The team is 3-0-0 in Lviv this season and it looks as if their winning run will continue. Although not having a world-class strikers, their midfielders have scored 5 of their 7 goals and we know that matches like these have to be won in midfield.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1
Odd: 1.60
Bookie: Bwin
Spain obviously isn’t such an obvious powerhouse as everybody expected them to be at this WC. Although they are playing without their by far the best player Pau Gasol and recently injured Calderon, the Spaniards still have a very respectable roster, but they still suffered a huge shock at their WC opener losing against France, which has a lot weaker squad than in the past few years, also being without their key star Tony Parker. The Spaniards controlled the game quite well just to see France literally ‘go wild’ in the 2nd half and taking over the situation, while ‘the Red Fury’ had only few players in the mood, which was insufficient to win the match. This loss might not mean anything for Spain, as they also their first game at the previous EC last year, eventually still taking the gold.
Fighters
New Zealand is a classic team that lacks quality but has got plenty of fighting spirit in their squad, which is their main tool that helps them to make up for their limited abilities at almost all positions in the roster. They are physically strong but simply don’t have enough ‘basketball education’ and very few players that are able to play serious ball. Undoubtedly, Penney is by far their best player, who literally kept his team in play by himself with a little help by Vukona when they faced Lithuania in the first round. However, they dropped in quality quite quickly, already at the start of the 2nd quarter and allowed the Lithuanians to crush them and were never able to come back after that. They shot for three with horrible 16% and generally the bad shot from the field together with poor organization of their plays cost them a loss in this first game of the WC.
Not that efficient
Firstly, this total is quite big. I don’t know the real reason for it as the Spaniards were always able to play tough defense and I am certain they will primarily want to ensure the triumph in this clash, and will secure that by guarding and shutting Penney down, as well as the rest of the opposing players, while on offense they will look to score as much as possible of course. Therefore, I expect them to maybe even reach some 85-90 points but New Zealand definitely can’t score more than 70, if even that. Anyhow, I even expect a bit more defensive and generally more careful game by both sides where I primarily think New Zealand will eventually get demolished but the Spaniards probably won’t ‘explode’ too much but will finish the opponent off with a routine. Thus I am taking the under for high stakes. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Under 161.5
Odd: 1.95
Bookie: Pinnacle
Probable starting eleven: Frey; De Silvestri, Natali, Kroldrup, Pasqual; Montolivo, Zanetti; Marchionni, D’Agostino, Vargas; Gilardino. The biggest change in Fiorentina came on coach position. Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic replace the ex coach Cesare Prandeli. Fiorentina owners Diego and Andrea Della Valle is confident that the Serb is the right man for the team. Their target is one of the first four places on the table. Even I am little doubtful about that, still remain the fact that Sinisa Mihajlovic made some impressive results with Catania last year. For this game Mihajlovic will be without injured Mario Santana, Adem Ljajic and Stevan Jovetic, while Alessandro Gamberini is banned. Adrian Mutu is still under suspension.
Great expectations from new season
Probable starting eleven: De Sanctis; Grava, Cannavaro, Aronica; Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Dossena; Hamsik; Lavezzi, Cavani. Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri also has some personal problems as Luigi Vitale is out due to injury, while Michele Pazienza is suspended. The summer transfer period wasn`t very interesting at napoli. Only one solid striker join the team – Edinson Cavani from Palermo. My opinion is that Napoli is little stronger that last season.
Both coaches should be satisfied with draw
I think both coaches will be satisfied with draw. It is clear why Mazzarri should be satisfied with draw, his team is playing away from home. But I think Sinisa Mihajlovic will also be satisfied. It is his first game in charge on Fiorentina bench. And what is more important, he will be without four players due to injuries and suspensions. Plus, Napoli won the last game played on Artemio Franchi (25.10.2009) with 1:0. Of course Mihajlovic will want to win, but it is clear Napoli is solid team and they are able to stay unbeaten in Firenze.
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Prediction:
Tip: x
Odd: 3.30
Bookie: Ladbrokes
Palermo in red-hot form
Palermo started to season earlier with UEFA games, also had a good pre-season. Palermo will miss their captain and striker Miccoli but even without him Palermo will not have scoring problems. New transfer Maccarone and Hernandez linked well. Behind them Argentinian young star Pastore will be big trouble for Cagliari`s “poor“ defence.Palermo is the one of the best home teams of Serie A.
No Allegri,Big Question Mark
Cagliari showed impressive performance last season. They were playing great offencive football. Seems like Bisoli will continue with Allegri`s system. Cagliari offence looked great on pre-season games but I cannot say same things for their defence. Cagliari will miss Ragatzu who is suspended and Conti is doubtful before Sicily away.I can say Cagliari again will be one of the best away or most dangerous teams of Serie A.
Goals in Barbera
Everybody is expecting an easy home win by Palermo. I would agree but first round open for suprises. (Roma-Cesena yesterday for example.) and if we say Cagliari is a classy team with their fast counter attack players. I chose totals because odds on Palermo is too low. I am expecting to Palermo win over Cagliari but Palermo`s defence not as solid as last season after Kjaer`s leave. Even from Maribor they have conceeded 3 goals. After Allegri,its hard to change Cagliari`s system. They have too many quality offencive players but with this squad its almost impossible to play defencive. Cagliari will try to find a fast goal against Sicilians and will try to keep score or will try to hit more with their deadly counter attacks. Cagliari defence is really showed terrible performance on pre-season games. Even if Cagliari won`t score here,Palermo is able to score 3 alone. 
I am going with totals here, my call is 3-1.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.5
Odd: 1.98
Bookie: Pinnacle
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