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Loz from Oz - Tennis picks
- Thread starter Loz
- Start date
Australian Open - Round 1 Picks
as usual, flat stakes of 5 units per match
bookie = gamebookers, but obviously if you can find better odds go for it.
Tursunov to bt Henman @-118 (1.85)
Henman says he is going to kick the Russian's arse in revenge for his early exit from Wimbledon but Tiger Tim is no spring chicken and I fear that this may be embarassing for him. Tursunov had a solid lead up to the Australian Open unlike Timmy and he has now had enough experience at the highest level to be able to beat a player like Tim whose best years are well behind him.
Gaudio (-7.5) to bt Sabau @1.85 (-118)
Gaudio is known in tennis circles as the gifted but unreliable one. He is never a sure bet on hard courts, but he certainly is very good on his day and his head is screwed on. Sabau is a pure clay player whose best results have come on the dirt. His only hard court success has come in out of the way Challenger tournys against crap players who will never get past the first round of a challenger tourny. Considering that he has nver got past the qualifiers at the US or Australian Open, I would expect Gaudio to be able to win this one easily in a complete mismatch.
Muller (-5.5) to bt Mello @1.85 (-118)
Muller is best known for putting Roddick out of the US Open in the first round without as much as breaking a sweat. But, he has been a very solid competitor on the ATP tour for the past 4-5 years now. His game is suited to the US and Aussie opens with his solid serves and devestating ground strokes.
Mello's 2005 was just plain awful with a captial "A". He exceeded his expectations in 2004 by having an inspired run of wins on the North American hard court circuit which really surprised many, but things have gone pear-shaped ever since then. I have even lost count of how many first round exits he made in 2005. The guy couldn't even get past the qualifiers in Sydney getting beaten convincingly by Noam Okun who is at least a class or two below Muller's level. Mello is one of those players that just throws in the towel as soon as the first set is lost.
Muller to romp it in here.
Thats it for now. Good luck!
as usual, flat stakes of 5 units per match
bookie = gamebookers, but obviously if you can find better odds go for it.
Tursunov to bt Henman @-118 (1.85)
Henman says he is going to kick the Russian's arse in revenge for his early exit from Wimbledon but Tiger Tim is no spring chicken and I fear that this may be embarassing for him. Tursunov had a solid lead up to the Australian Open unlike Timmy and he has now had enough experience at the highest level to be able to beat a player like Tim whose best years are well behind him.
Gaudio (-7.5) to bt Sabau @1.85 (-118)
Gaudio is known in tennis circles as the gifted but unreliable one. He is never a sure bet on hard courts, but he certainly is very good on his day and his head is screwed on. Sabau is a pure clay player whose best results have come on the dirt. His only hard court success has come in out of the way Challenger tournys against crap players who will never get past the first round of a challenger tourny. Considering that he has nver got past the qualifiers at the US or Australian Open, I would expect Gaudio to be able to win this one easily in a complete mismatch.
Muller (-5.5) to bt Mello @1.85 (-118)
Muller is best known for putting Roddick out of the US Open in the first round without as much as breaking a sweat. But, he has been a very solid competitor on the ATP tour for the past 4-5 years now. His game is suited to the US and Aussie opens with his solid serves and devestating ground strokes.
Mello's 2005 was just plain awful with a captial "A". He exceeded his expectations in 2004 by having an inspired run of wins on the North American hard court circuit which really surprised many, but things have gone pear-shaped ever since then. I have even lost count of how many first round exits he made in 2005. The guy couldn't even get past the qualifiers in Sydney getting beaten convincingly by Noam Okun who is at least a class or two below Muller's level. Mello is one of those players that just throws in the towel as soon as the first set is lost.
Muller to romp it in here.
Thats it for now. Good luck!
Baghdatis (-5.5) to bt Gimelstob @1.85 (-118)
The only downside to an otherwise solid start to the year has been losses to Nieminen who just won the Auckland tourny, and, Federer who is simply the greatest player of all time.
He has impressed me for quite some time and I would be very surprised if he did not become a regular top 10 player in the next year or so. Gimelstob should be outclassed in every department, and even if he is lucky enough to take one set form Baghdatis, I think it will be close so the handicap won't be pushed too far for Baghdatais to get it.
The only downside to an otherwise solid start to the year has been losses to Nieminen who just won the Auckland tourny, and, Federer who is simply the greatest player of all time.
He has impressed me for quite some time and I would be very surprised if he did not become a regular top 10 player in the next year or so. Gimelstob should be outclassed in every department, and even if he is lucky enough to take one set form Baghdatis, I think it will be close so the handicap won't be pushed too far for Baghdatais to get it.
Some early day 2 Tennis picks - Aussie Open
Haas (-3.5) to bt Gasquet
Gasquet looks out of sorts at this early stage of the year. He has so far lost consecutive opening round matches against Henman and Andreev in straight sets making quite a few unforced errors form all accounts.
I have no doubt at all that with the depth of talent he demonstrated consistently in 2005, Gasquet will be a force to be reckoned with in 2006. But, I doubt that this is likely to start tomorrow when he faces an in-form Tommy Haas who is having a week to remember. Haas was able to beat Federer in Kooyong and go on to make the final of that tournament, albeit in what is little more than an exhibition tournament. But in my book, beating Federer with his hands tied behind his back and blindfolded is still a monumental achievement and not to be ignored.
On clay and at his best, my money is behind Gasquet to beat the German. But this is not clay and Gasquet has not hit form yet. And, don't forget - Gasquet is not a proven CONSISTENT hard court player and as with many players, he is generally only at his best when he has momentum. 3.5 games is nothing in a 5-set match, and in my opinion, the handicap is slightly flattering to the Frenchman who has done nothing lately to deserve it. Everything points to a Haas win, and I think on the balance of probabilities I am going to stick my $ on Haas here no question.
Lee (+4) to bt Mayer
This matchup should be a lot closer than the odds actually reflect. Mayer had only one big win on hard court against Robin Vik in Auckland but apart from that, has very little to boast about. Whilst Mayer also has had a far from impressive past 12 months, at least he has been getting plenty of match practice on hard court tournys on the challenger circuit where he has posted a respectable 8-1 win loss record.
Lee likes the Australian hard court playing conditions generally. His one and only tourny win came in Sydney in 2003 where he was on fire. I really believe that Lee's game is is just better-suited to this tourny and Mayer will get shown up as a pretender tomorrow. Lee should at t he very least be able to win one set, and I think that if the wheels start falling off Mayer's cart and Lee gets a smell of blood, it could even be over quite quickly contrary to popular opinion at the moment.
Grosjean (-4.5) to bt Phillipoussis
Put simply, the Poo should not be trusted. He has stumbed from one first round loss to another for far too many times I wish to remember.
These are just some of the factors which might persuade someone to back him:
i. His opponent Grosjean isnt exactly in blistering form at the moment having a 0-2 record including a loss to the out of form El Aynoui.
ii. Poo is playin in front of a home crowd.
Grosjean is by far the better player at the moment. Importantly, he has a much more solid mental game which will be pivotal here. Expect Poo to put up a fight at the start, then proceed to throw the game away according to script. This is more likely to happen across a potentially 5-set match because the longer this match goes on, the greater the chances that Poo's head will start acting funny as it usually does and he loses this match.
updated win loss to follow soon...
Haas (-3.5) to bt Gasquet
Gasquet looks out of sorts at this early stage of the year. He has so far lost consecutive opening round matches against Henman and Andreev in straight sets making quite a few unforced errors form all accounts.
I have no doubt at all that with the depth of talent he demonstrated consistently in 2005, Gasquet will be a force to be reckoned with in 2006. But, I doubt that this is likely to start tomorrow when he faces an in-form Tommy Haas who is having a week to remember. Haas was able to beat Federer in Kooyong and go on to make the final of that tournament, albeit in what is little more than an exhibition tournament. But in my book, beating Federer with his hands tied behind his back and blindfolded is still a monumental achievement and not to be ignored.
On clay and at his best, my money is behind Gasquet to beat the German. But this is not clay and Gasquet has not hit form yet. And, don't forget - Gasquet is not a proven CONSISTENT hard court player and as with many players, he is generally only at his best when he has momentum. 3.5 games is nothing in a 5-set match, and in my opinion, the handicap is slightly flattering to the Frenchman who has done nothing lately to deserve it. Everything points to a Haas win, and I think on the balance of probabilities I am going to stick my $ on Haas here no question.
Lee (+4) to bt Mayer
This matchup should be a lot closer than the odds actually reflect. Mayer had only one big win on hard court against Robin Vik in Auckland but apart from that, has very little to boast about. Whilst Mayer also has had a far from impressive past 12 months, at least he has been getting plenty of match practice on hard court tournys on the challenger circuit where he has posted a respectable 8-1 win loss record.
Lee likes the Australian hard court playing conditions generally. His one and only tourny win came in Sydney in 2003 where he was on fire. I really believe that Lee's game is is just better-suited to this tourny and Mayer will get shown up as a pretender tomorrow. Lee should at t he very least be able to win one set, and I think that if the wheels start falling off Mayer's cart and Lee gets a smell of blood, it could even be over quite quickly contrary to popular opinion at the moment.
Grosjean (-4.5) to bt Phillipoussis
Put simply, the Poo should not be trusted. He has stumbed from one first round loss to another for far too many times I wish to remember.
These are just some of the factors which might persuade someone to back him:
i. His opponent Grosjean isnt exactly in blistering form at the moment having a 0-2 record including a loss to the out of form El Aynoui.
ii. Poo is playin in front of a home crowd.
Grosjean is by far the better player at the moment. Importantly, he has a much more solid mental game which will be pivotal here. Expect Poo to put up a fight at the start, then proceed to throw the game away according to script. This is more likely to happen across a potentially 5-set match because the longer this match goes on, the greater the chances that Poo's head will start acting funny as it usually does and he loses this match.
updated win loss to follow soon...
Correction in post 25 above...
Lee (+4) to bt Mayer
This matchup should be a lot closer than the odds actually reflect. Mayer had only one big win on hard court against Robin Vik in Auckland but apart from that, has very little to boast about. Whilst LEE also has had a far from impressive past 12 months, at least he has been getting plenty of match practice on hard court tournys on the challenger circuit where he has posted a respectable 8-1 win loss record.
Lee likes the Australian hard court playing conditions generally. His one and only tourny win came in Sydney in 2003 where he was on fire. I really believe that Lee's game is is just better-suited to this tourny and Mayer will get shown up as a pretender tomorrow. Lee should at t he very least be able to win one set, and I think that if the wheels start falling off Mayer's cart and Lee gets a smell of blood, it could even be over quite quickly contrary to popular opinion at the moment.
Lee (+4) to bt Mayer
This matchup should be a lot closer than the odds actually reflect. Mayer had only one big win on hard court against Robin Vik in Auckland but apart from that, has very little to boast about. Whilst LEE also has had a far from impressive past 12 months, at least he has been getting plenty of match practice on hard court tournys on the challenger circuit where he has posted a respectable 8-1 win loss record.
Lee likes the Australian hard court playing conditions generally. His one and only tourny win came in Sydney in 2003 where he was on fire. I really believe that Lee's game is is just better-suited to this tourny and Mayer will get shown up as a pretender tomorrow. Lee should at t he very least be able to win one set, and I think that if the wheels start falling off Mayer's cart and Lee gets a smell of blood, it could even be over quite quickly contrary to popular opinion at the moment.
...another pick for Day 2
Clement (-2) to bt Mathieu @1.85 (-118) gamebookers - 5 units
This pick is almost purely based on current form at the moment. Form is never every the only factor, but in this case I will make an exception. I have to say from the outset that I am not never entirely confident of either of these two players Mathieu and Clement. They can each be like Jekyl and Hyde.
But, Clement had a very respectable winning streak going on before pushing James Blake to 3 sets in Sydney. Mathieu on the other hand got beaten in his last 2 matches - but by fairly strong opponents, and, has had a fairly ordinary run of late.
I would not be surprised if Mathieu was able to snatch at least 1 set here, but with a hc of -2 across a possible 5-set match games you are virtually betting on the winner with the benefit of higher odds and I am confident that even if Mathieu gets the set or 2, Clement should be able to cover the hc because when he gets on a roll, he usually keeps rolling strong.
Clement (-2) to bt Mathieu @1.85 (-118) gamebookers - 5 units
This pick is almost purely based on current form at the moment. Form is never every the only factor, but in this case I will make an exception. I have to say from the outset that I am not never entirely confident of either of these two players Mathieu and Clement. They can each be like Jekyl and Hyde.
But, Clement had a very respectable winning streak going on before pushing James Blake to 3 sets in Sydney. Mathieu on the other hand got beaten in his last 2 matches - but by fairly strong opponents, and, has had a fairly ordinary run of late.
I would not be surprised if Mathieu was able to snatch at least 1 set here, but with a hc of -2 across a possible 5-set match games you are virtually betting on the winner with the benefit of higher odds and I am confident that even if Mathieu gets the set or 2, Clement should be able to cover the hc because when he gets on a roll, he usually keeps rolling strong.
Jackson to bt Tanasugarn @1.95 gamebookers 5 units
Tanasugarn is now what you'd call a verteran of hte WTA, and in the past, she has had quite a good time playing in Australia. However, the last time Tanasugarn had a decent win on hard court was a long long time ago. Generally speaking her best successes come on grass these days and thats where her main focus is in her last years on the tour.
Jackson is a much younger up and coming player who has had some good match practice in Hobart leading up to this event. She isn't what I would call spectacular, but at least she is improving each tournament she plays in an I think has the ability to put the Thai girl to rest whose "high" odds of 1.85 reflect her past reputation and not her present one.
Jacksn to get her first win at the Aus open.
Tanasugarn is now what you'd call a verteran of hte WTA, and in the past, she has had quite a good time playing in Australia. However, the last time Tanasugarn had a decent win on hard court was a long long time ago. Generally speaking her best successes come on grass these days and thats where her main focus is in her last years on the tour.
Jackson is a much younger up and coming player who has had some good match practice in Hobart leading up to this event. She isn't what I would call spectacular, but at least she is improving each tournament she plays in an I think has the ability to put the Thai girl to rest whose "high" odds of 1.85 reflect her past reputation and not her present one.
Jacksn to get her first win at the Aus open.
...and another one for day 2 Womens
Zvonareva to bt Hingis @2.05 gamebookers 5 units
I really think that a lot of sentimental money is being loaded up behind Hingis here. As much as I like her and want her to do well, I think I will leave the sentimentality at the door and put the mighty $ first.
Zvonareva has made me plenty of $ over the years. She is a modest quiet achiever who I rate much more highly than her over-rated counterparts Dementieva (who can't server), and. Myskina (who is a head case). She has a solid no BS style of play, She is an agressive yet controlled player who is not afraid to take her shots and go for the winners - and she has the skill to get most of her shots. Thats the great thing about this girl, she is fairly low profile for reasons I just don't understand.
Everyone wants to say that they beat Hingis, albeit in her comeback year. It really doesn't matter, Hingis made life suck for so many women players over the years, now it is payback time. Zvonareva should give her a run for her money and in my opinion should be the favourite here. If it goes to 3 sets I suspect that Hingis lack of match fitness will start to take its toll.
In my opinion, load up on the Russian girl.
Zvonareva to bt Hingis @2.05 gamebookers 5 units
I really think that a lot of sentimental money is being loaded up behind Hingis here. As much as I like her and want her to do well, I think I will leave the sentimentality at the door and put the mighty $ first.
Zvonareva has made me plenty of $ over the years. She is a modest quiet achiever who I rate much more highly than her over-rated counterparts Dementieva (who can't server), and. Myskina (who is a head case). She has a solid no BS style of play, She is an agressive yet controlled player who is not afraid to take her shots and go for the winners - and she has the skill to get most of her shots. Thats the great thing about this girl, she is fairly low profile for reasons I just don't understand.
Everyone wants to say that they beat Hingis, albeit in her comeback year. It really doesn't matter, Hingis made life suck for so many women players over the years, now it is payback time. Zvonareva should give her a run for her money and in my opinion should be the favourite here. If it goes to 3 sets I suspect that Hingis lack of match fitness will start to take its toll.
In my opinion, load up on the Russian girl.
Early Day 3 pick...
Baghdatis (+3.5) to bt Stepanek @1.85 (-118) gamebookers
Stetpanek's record looks impressive over the past 3 months. However...
(a) If you look very closely at his recrod, you will be hard pressed to find a really quality name amongst his scalps when playing in hard court tourny's.
(b) Over the many years he has played, he has always tended to go well in MAsters cup tournys and tier 1 type ATP tournys but for some reason he is never able to translate this success at the 4 majors.
Apart from this, Baghdatis is simply the better player in my opinion and I don't even think he is gonna need the handicap to get past Radek, but I will take it with confidence anyway.
Baghdatis (+3.5) to bt Stepanek @1.85 (-118) gamebookers
Stetpanek's record looks impressive over the past 3 months. However...
(a) If you look very closely at his recrod, you will be hard pressed to find a really quality name amongst his scalps when playing in hard court tourny's.
(b) Over the many years he has played, he has always tended to go well in MAsters cup tournys and tier 1 type ATP tournys but for some reason he is never able to translate this success at the 4 majors.
Apart from this, Baghdatis is simply the better player in my opinion and I don't even think he is gonna need the handicap to get past Radek, but I will take it with confidence anyway.
Santoro (-3.5) to bt Pavel @1.85 gamebookers 5 units
Pavel hasn't been all that successful lately. He beat Moya in the opening round but may be a bit flattering to Pavel becaus Moya was showing signs of fatigue having played quite a lot of tennis in the preceding 2 weeks - in some ways a victim of his own success at Chennia and Sydney. I am not one who likes to rely on trends, but one thing is for sure, its not often that a player will back up solidly after a gruelling 5-set match, unless he is a very good player. I doubt Pavel will have the legs to match it with Santoro who should have too much class for him on the day.
Pavel hasn't been all that successful lately. He beat Moya in the opening round but may be a bit flattering to Pavel becaus Moya was showing signs of fatigue having played quite a lot of tennis in the preceding 2 weeks - in some ways a victim of his own success at Chennia and Sydney. I am not one who likes to rely on trends, but one thing is for sure, its not often that a player will back up solidly after a gruelling 5-set match, unless he is a very good player. I doubt Pavel will have the legs to match it with Santoro who should have too much class for him on the day.
Tursunov to bt Robredo @1.77 gamebookers 5 units
Tursunov has changed my mind about him this year. He is a lot more focused on his games and that was very evident when he came back from 5-1 down in the 4th set against Henman the other night to win it.
Whilst, Robredo is a quality player and he has a respectable record on hard courts,Tursunov has the better game in these conditions.
The last meeting was won by Tursunov two weeks ago. I have no reason to believe thigns will change in two weeks. If it ain broke, don't fix it. Going with the big Russian.
Tursunov has changed my mind about him this year. He is a lot more focused on his games and that was very evident when he came back from 5-1 down in the 4th set against Henman the other night to win it.
Whilst, Robredo is a quality player and he has a respectable record on hard courts,Tursunov has the better game in these conditions.
The last meeting was won by Tursunov two weeks ago. I have no reason to believe thigns will change in two weeks. If it ain broke, don't fix it. Going with the big Russian.
Muller (+3.5) to bt Lopez @1.85 (-118) gamebookers 5 units
Lopez is solid across a vairety of court surfaces which is unusual for a Spanish player. But he is nothing "special" on any of them.
A lot of money is riding on him because of his better than expected performance at Wimbledon and at the Aussie open last year. But, Lopez is going to face Muller who I have previously mentioned is an extremely big hitter on hard courts, and just a damn good player.
The only concern I have is that Muller was surprisingly pushed to 5 sets against Mello in the first set. But so much is my confidence and respect for Muller that I think he will win this one against the over-rated and often unreliable Spaniard. I will be hoping he can blow the spaniard away in 3 sets as another 5-set match would be the worst preparation for round 3.
Lopez is solid across a vairety of court surfaces which is unusual for a Spanish player. But he is nothing "special" on any of them.
A lot of money is riding on him because of his better than expected performance at Wimbledon and at the Aussie open last year. But, Lopez is going to face Muller who I have previously mentioned is an extremely big hitter on hard courts, and just a damn good player.
The only concern I have is that Muller was surprisingly pushed to 5 sets against Mello in the first set. But so much is my confidence and respect for Muller that I think he will win this one against the over-rated and often unreliable Spaniard. I will be hoping he can blow the spaniard away in 3 sets as another 5-set match would be the worst preparation for round 3.
Ondraskova to bt Kostanic @2.62 5 units (Note: Odds for this match only are at Pinnacle not Gamebookers)
Ondraskova has a 2:0 H2H against Kostanic who has never ben all that outstanding or reliable on the WTA tour. Kostanic just seesm to turn up each year and her performance range from bad to consistent mediocrity. She has racked up a 5w:2L record so far this yea, but hans't played anyone decent yet.
Not saying htat Ondraskova is a star, but if you asked me to pick between the 2 I would not hesitate to go for Ondrakova at these odds as Kostanic has gone haywire too many times in the past.
So, there is definite value in Ondraskova, and, she has a psychological edge over Kostanic at the very least which could make a big difference.
Ondraskova has a 2:0 H2H against Kostanic who has never ben all that outstanding or reliable on the WTA tour. Kostanic just seesm to turn up each year and her performance range from bad to consistent mediocrity. She has racked up a 5w:2L record so far this yea, but hans't played anyone decent yet.
Not saying htat Ondraskova is a star, but if you asked me to pick between the 2 I would not hesitate to go for Ondrakova at these odds as Kostanic has gone haywire too many times in the past.
So, there is definite value in Ondraskova, and, she has a psychological edge over Kostanic at the very least which could make a big difference.
Multi (odds from Pinnacle)
Santoro (1.54) x Gaudio (1.23) --> @1.89 5 units
As mentioned above, I really think it will take an extraordinary effort for PAvel to get up against Santoro who should have the better fitness levels in round 2 after his epic 6-2etter against Moya. Santoro also has 2:0 H2H against PAvel.
As for Gaudio, even he can't screw this one up against lame-arse Burgsmuller. The German guy is just a complete waste of space on the tour - enough said. Now I hope that doesnt jinx me.
Santoro (1.54) x Gaudio (1.23) --> @1.89 5 units
As mentioned above, I really think it will take an extraordinary effort for PAvel to get up against Santoro who should have the better fitness levels in round 2 after his epic 6-2etter against Moya. Santoro also has 2:0 H2H against PAvel.
As for Gaudio, even he can't screw this one up against lame-arse Burgsmuller. The German guy is just a complete waste of space on the tour - enough said. Now I hope that doesnt jinx me.
Day 4...
Mirza to bt Krajicek @2.05 gamebookers 5 units
Krajicek has received a lot of positive reviews lately and to a large extent it is deserved having just won her first tourny in Hobart. But lets put that into perspective, the Hobart tourny is considered to have the weakest field of women's players each year in Australia.
Mirza is a player who arrived in a big way last year and promises to continue her strong performance in 2006. She has the maturity and experience now to win the big matches. Unlike Krajicek, Mirza has gone to the 3rd rount at the Oz Open last year and made it to the 4th round of hte US in 2005. I think that Krajicek will be severely tested here moreso than she has already been this year.
If she can get her serve right today Mirza should have an edge in talent and experience here.
Sanguinetti to bt Mirnyi @ 2.20 gamebookers 5 units
Mirnyi was unconvincning in his openign round match. He seems to be having problems with his serve in particular of late, and given that this is a big part of his overall game, that does not bode well for him at all.
Whilst I will often refer to Sanguinetti as the old man and put him down occasionally, he is still quite a tough little SOB more often than not, and he has put egg on my face on several occaionss when I expected him to be completely outclassed. I think that this is one big opportunity for Sanguinetti to win because Mirnyi had a big 5-setter in the previous round and if you look at all the results so far at the Aus Open, no player who had a 5-setter has survived the following. Sanguinetti on the other hand had a pretty easy time of it and should have physical edge.
Mirnyi used to be quite a fearful character in singles, and of course he is stil lvery talented, but he doesnt win as often as he should. Also there is some suggestion that Mirnyi's mind may be focusing more on the Doubles - probably just speculation - but it does make some sense I guess.
good luck!
Nakamura to bt Dulko @2.35 gamebookers
At the best of times Dulko is an unrelaible player. This week she has not been 100% fit having pulled out of the Sydney International with Abdominal strain.
Nakamura on the other hand is having a hot streak and I expect that she will be quite a handful for hte Argentine girl today particularly with a question mark about her fitness.
Mirza to bt Krajicek @2.05 gamebookers 5 units
Krajicek has received a lot of positive reviews lately and to a large extent it is deserved having just won her first tourny in Hobart. But lets put that into perspective, the Hobart tourny is considered to have the weakest field of women's players each year in Australia.
Mirza is a player who arrived in a big way last year and promises to continue her strong performance in 2006. She has the maturity and experience now to win the big matches. Unlike Krajicek, Mirza has gone to the 3rd rount at the Oz Open last year and made it to the 4th round of hte US in 2005. I think that Krajicek will be severely tested here moreso than she has already been this year.
If she can get her serve right today Mirza should have an edge in talent and experience here.
Sanguinetti to bt Mirnyi @ 2.20 gamebookers 5 units
Mirnyi was unconvincning in his openign round match. He seems to be having problems with his serve in particular of late, and given that this is a big part of his overall game, that does not bode well for him at all.
Whilst I will often refer to Sanguinetti as the old man and put him down occasionally, he is still quite a tough little SOB more often than not, and he has put egg on my face on several occaionss when I expected him to be completely outclassed. I think that this is one big opportunity for Sanguinetti to win because Mirnyi had a big 5-setter in the previous round and if you look at all the results so far at the Aus Open, no player who had a 5-setter has survived the following. Sanguinetti on the other hand had a pretty easy time of it and should have physical edge.
Mirnyi used to be quite a fearful character in singles, and of course he is stil lvery talented, but he doesnt win as often as he should. Also there is some suggestion that Mirnyi's mind may be focusing more on the Doubles - probably just speculation - but it does make some sense I guess.
good luck!
Nakamura to bt Dulko @2.35 gamebookers
At the best of times Dulko is an unrelaible player. This week she has not been 100% fit having pulled out of the Sydney International with Abdominal strain.
Nakamura on the other hand is having a hot streak and I expect that she will be quite a handful for hte Argentine girl today particularly with a question mark about her fitness.
