Garcia-Lopez has had a very good start at the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam of the season. After six weeks without competing due to the ankle injury he sustained in Germany, he was returned to competition with a victory. In two hours and 21 minutes, Guillermo has defeated a Polish Lukasz Kubot in a great match and his ankle has responded wonderfully. He feels very well with his ankle, which is still receiving special treatment. He managed nine aces and two double faults, but more importantly it is that he has kept his unforced errors to a minimum, with only two throughout the match. He will meet for the fifth time his compatriot Almagro and Garcia-Lopez has a perfect record leading him with 4-0 but none of this meeting was on hard.
Solid
Also Almagro looks under injury clouds, complaining by an intestinal virus. “It will be a hard and difficult match, I’ll have to play really well to get to the next round. He is coming back from an injury and he is eager to win and will no doubt really go for it. As for me, my goal for this season is to finish in the top 10 in the world. It is increasingly difficult for me because there are less tournaments to play now.” – said Almagro. He beat Starace in first round firing 31 aces with only 4 double faults and overall he looked good on court.
Fight
Both have a solid serve with a plus for Almagro and both likes to dictate the rhythm from the back of the court and the player who’ll keep his errors low he will take this one, Garcia-Lopez is well too soon to be trusted here especially in a five set match and I back over for this match.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 39.5 games
Odd: 2.02
Bookie: Pinnacle
There is no doubt Shahar Peer is a very good tennis player, she is always hanging around the top 20 spot and is a constant threat to the best tennis players on the tour. This season she had a bit more success on clay, but at the beginning of the year she also had one final and two semifinals on hard, so it`s clear she is a good all-rounder, able to play on all surfaces and having all of her shots developed in the same way. Last year she was knocked out by Kuznetsova in the 3rd round of USO, while this year she had 2 easy matches against out of form Kostanic and Parmentier, but still she struggled quite a bit on both occasions, especially against the Croat, even though the final score might not be showing it.
Wants to do well
Similarly to her today`s rival, Flavia Pennetta is also good at all surfaces and this year she lost two finals, one on each of the surfaces, and even won one title on clay. She played 4 tournaments at this year`s 2nd part of the North-American tour, losing only to top 10 players, after some very tough matches. Otherwise, she was always totally comfortable and won almost all other matches in straight sets. She is usually very good on her own serve, and holds those games quite well, while on the returns she is always very aggressive and her shots are really powerful. She won both of her matches at this USO in two easy sets, despite being 2 games down in the 2nd against Szavay. Once she steps it up, it`s really hard to defend against her.
Peer has nothing to hope for here
Shahar Peer is actually ranked 2 places better than Flavia Pennetta in the rankings but many times I`ve said that the WTA list isn`t always the best indicator of quality as the women are very prone to ups and downs, and thus we can never use that as the main measurement of real quality. Currently, Pennetta is a huge favorite to win this match. I don`t see how can Peer break her with her current game, and even though it`s true Shahar is improving and is close to that top 10 level, the class difference is much bigger right now in Pennetta`s favor, who is almost superb on hard. Pennetta usually finishes these kinds of matches quickly, and I see her stepping up a notch this time and not allowing too many opportunities to Peer during the entire course of the match, which should all result in her easy win. The odds are much better than I expected and that`s why I am going on that with high stakes. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: 0:2
Odd: 2.10
Bookie: Expekt
Jeremy Chardy was in strong form in first round given no chance to Gulbis. His serve was solid with 18 aces and 5 double faults winning 84% points behind that and didn’t lost his serve from 8 break opportunities. It is just the second win for the Frenchman in US Open but he looked in strong form prior to US Open and if he will play like he did in first round he can be a hard nut to crack in this quarter. He will meet Spaniard Gimeno-Traver.
Underdog
Gimeno-Traver beat Nieminen in three sets in first round for the first win in US Open. The Spaniard too full control of a poor serve by the Finn and also some poor retrieving and simply failed to put some pressure in the match against Gimeno-Traver. He came here after he won the title in Segovia Challenger but overall the Spaniard enters with 1/5 in ATP matches on hard courts and usually tends to lose against powerful hitters on tour, losing to Troicki, Djokovic, Karlovic only this year.
Chardy without a doubt
The Frenchman has a powerful serve to win cheap points and he will make his own game easier while the Spaniard will not have same comfort on retrieving like in the first match, he looks better from the back of the court but he needs to keep the ball in play and force Chardy to play an extra ball. The Frenchman looked solid recently and I back him to take this one with 3 sets.
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Prediction:
Tip: 3-0
Odd: 2.45
Bookie: Expekt
Qualified for second round of the U.S. Open against Feliciano Lopez, the Frenchman Benoit Paire imposed in the elite of the tennis. He is a qualifier here and managed to beat Schuettler in first round, a success more memorable as the German has served twice to gain the match. “It`s great!” – said Paire. “First victory at the U.S. Open, which is over five sets, I remember all my life.” He has an atypical play, sometimes is dormant on court but also a tricky player, he looks like Mathieu even that he likes more Safin. His serve not clicked as he landed only 48% of first serve in and hit 13 aces with 9 double faults. Still he kept his head and game and managed to be in the second round of a Grand Slam. He meets now Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
Very strong
Feliciano Lopez is a left hander and who plays a lot serve and volleys something that Paire doesn’t see too much on lower circuit. Lopez beat Giraldo and needed only one break in all sets to advance further while he didn’t lost his serve.
Demonstration of power
The Frenchman isn’t used too much with the hard courts, only 1/1 on Challenger circuit, he has a solid baseline display but he needs to focus here as the balls will come faster to him from the other side of the net. If the Spaniard will not suffer a let down he should close this one easily in three set and back Feliciano Lopez to win with handicap.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2 AH (-5.5 games)
Odd: 1.95
Bookie: Bwin
Arnaud Clement is yet another one of the French veterans on the tour whose play is decorated by huge amounts of fighting spirit and the ability to never give up, which was best demonstrated in his first round match against favored Baghdatis, when he came back in style losing 2-1 in sets, but eventually prevailing and winning after a marathon. He surely got exhausted after that clash but I believe he recovered after a couple of days and is ready to get past yet another opponent, this time entering the match as a favorite. Surely, a very respectable opponent.
Improving the form
Eduardo Schwank didn`t record too many notable results this year and generally had a few ups and downs in form, firstly losing in the finals of Sao Paolo challenger on hard, just to win another challenger after that on clay. He is a much better player on clay but he can often show good performances on hard, and from what I`ve seen of Schwank recently, I would say he is improving his form a bit. He gave a hard time ti solid hard-courters Dent and Verdasco, taking them both into 3 sets in his past two tournaments, and then he beat Ginepri in 4, in quite a tight opener at this year`s USO. Last year Schwank didn`t even participate at the USO so it could be said he is already satisfied with the result he`s recorded so far.
The Frenchman continues his adventure
These two never met before but I believe Clement should be a much bigger favorite than the odds suggest. He is the player that saves his best for the big tournies, Grand Slams, and what he has shown against Baghdatis was just outstanding. If he will be able to repeat that, primarily I mean the stability on his serve in the key moments and attacking-minded tennis on the returns, I don`t see how Schwank will manage to even win one set. Sure, the Argentinean won against Ginepri, but the American is totally out of form and the fact that match was pretty tight can only mean Schwank isn`t playing that great either. I expect Clement to dominate this match, and win by at least 2 sets difference. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Clement -1.5 sets
Odd: 2.50
Bookie: Sportingbet
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
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
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