Tennis Picks August 3rd Washington and San Diego

I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in following the David Nalbandian loss to James Blake last night- Nalbandian was my favourite player in the early part of the last decade and one that I felt has not quite reached the heights that his talent has deserved, either through injury or not quite finishing the job at key times.

His biggest moment came in 2005 when he overturned a 2 set deficit against Roger Federer in the ATP End of Year Championships, a remarkable feat when considering where Federer was in his career.

Nalbandian remains the best player I have seen in my lifetime that failed to win a Grand Slam, which is a real disappointment considering how close he came in a couple of different tournaments.

He should have won the US Open in 2003 when leading Andy Roddick 2-0 in the Semi Final before the American fought through and went on to win his only Grand Slam title.

Nalbandian was also a Finalist at Wimbledon in 2002, perhaps a little too early in his career at that time,  and in 2004 he was the big favourite to beat Gaston Gaudio in the Semi Final at the French Open before losing to the eventual winner.

Time looks to have passed Nalbandian by when it comes to a singles Grand Slam win, but I will be cheering on Argentina in the Davis Cup and hope he has one more big achievement left in him. Twice he has helped lead Argentina to the Final, but this year he will have the additional support of Juan Martin Del Potro.

He still remains an exceptional player to watch and I have been fortunate to see him in action live on a couple of occasions this year- hopefully he will be back in the UK for tournaments next season too.

Now on to the Picks:

Double; Radek Stepanek vs Wayne Odesnik and Jurgen Melzer vs Donald Young: There is a lot of choice today from the ATP tournament in Washington, but there were too many question marks for me to make too many picks.

This is one double I picked out from the coupon which I feel should come in- Radek Stepanek was serving very well in his 1st Round win over Philipp Petzschner and perhaps should have won the match in straight sets and he faces a player that has only returned to the tour in recent months and comes into the tournament as a 'Lucky Loser'.

Wayne Odesnik has recently won a Challenger event on the hard courts but was beaten in straight sets by Rajeev Ram in the qualifying here and Stepanek represents a significant step up of recent competition.

Stepanek is coming to the end of his career but he remains competitive and has had a good time on the hard courts in previous years. He also holds a winning record over Odesnik in the head to head and I think his chances have been underestimated by the layers.

Jurgen Melzer has not had a great season following last years exploits and he also had the additional problem of having to move from the clay to the hard courts. These first matches on a new surface can be tough, but I think Melzer can take down the underachieving Donald Young.

Young took advantage of an overmatched opponent in the 1st Round, but recent defeats to Michael Russell and Alex Bogdanovic do not really inspire confidence in him.

Melzer has also won both previous meetings with Young, one of those on a hard court, and I think the Austrian will be too strong here.


Ryan Harrison vs Victor Troicki: Ryan Harrison has played a lot of tennis, with success, in the last couple of weeks and was forced to go the distance in beating Mischa Zverev yesterday. However, he plays an opponent that has only played a couple of Davis Cup ties since Wimbledon and he could catch him cold.

Troicki is having a good season and it took Novak Djokovic to stop his runs at Miami and Indian Wells earlier this year. He didn't have a great Summer Swing here last year and was beaten in this Round in Washington when falling to Mardy Fish.

Harrison has not beaten someone of the level of Troicki over the last couple of weeks, but I will have a small interest that he can cause a surprise against an undercooked opponent.


Sofia Arvidsson vs Alberta Brianti: This is a pick for the minimum stakes but I think the wrong player has been set as the underdog in the match.

I think Alberta Brianti has been set as the favourite after she beat Flavia Pennetta in the last Round, but I actually think Sofia Arvidsson has the better hard court pedigree.

Brianti has lost matches against Sophie Ferguson, Heather Watson and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn on the hard courts this year and she was beaten in the 1st Round of a Challenger tournament in the Bronx last year, a tournament in which her opponent reached the Final.

Arvidsson has won both previous matches against Brianti in straight sets, and that includes a win on the hard courts in Miami last year.

Arvidsson is not someone to back with any kind of certainty but, as I said above, I think she should be the favourite in this match.


MY PICKS: Double; Radek Stepanek and Jurgen Melzer @ 1.94 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Ryan Harrison @ 2.75 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
Sofia Arvidsson @ 2.18 Pinnacle (1 Unit)




WEEKLY UPDATE WASHINGTON/SAN DIEGO: + 2.5 Units