Tennis Picks July 31st (London Olympics Day 4 and Washington)

As I wrote yesterday, I will be making picks from the tournament in Washington a bit later considering their order of play will not be out for a while and the markets need time to catch up.

The Olympic tournament in London has been going pretty smoothly for most of the top players, but it should begin heating up as the limit of 16 seeds means there are plenty of good matches to watch.

Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova and Roger Federer are also keeping my outright interests alive in the tournament following the exit of Tomas Berdych and all three look solid so far, although Kvitova has needed three sets to win both of her first two matches.

However, I am not so concerned with Serena Williams and Federer who moved through easily enough, although the challenges are going to get a lot better in the coming days.


Sabine Lisicki v Yaroslava Shvedova: This has been set as a pick 'em contest as Yaroslava Shvedova has been playing some very good tennis since the French Open and Sabine Lisicki can be a little frustrating to watch.

However, I think the German player probably favours grass more than any other surface and that should give her the belief that she can win this match.

Her serve can be effective and she just has to be careful that she doesn't make too many unforced errors, something that can be a problem in her game.

Shvedova has played some of her best tennis in her Singles career over the last couple of months, but this is as tough a test she would have faced. I really respect the fact that she pushed Serena Williams all the way in a three set loss at Wimbledon, and there is every chance this match also needs a decider.

However, I do believe Lisicki is going to be a little too good when it is all said and done and I will pick her to win this one.


Marcos Baghdatis + 3.5 games v Richard Gasquet: Both of these players are very comfortable on the grass courts, but I just think Marcos Baghdatis is being under-rated in this one and is more than capable of winning at least a set and that could ensure that he covers the spread.

Baghdatis gave Andy Murray all sorts of problems when they met at Wimbledon last month, while Richard Gasquet was a disappointing loser to Florian Mayer.

The Cypriot is not really someone I would have high on a list of players I would trust to give their all if they were playing for my life, but I think he is strong enough to take at least a set even if he doesn't win the match, and that may be enough to see the cover come in.

Baghdatis has also won the only meeting between Gasquet and himself and I am going to look to him to keep this tight.


Jesse Levine v Marinko Matosevic: This is a close match but one where I think Jesse Levine will be a little too strong and is worth a small interest.

He is playing in front of a crowd that should be supporting him fully and he did record a straight sets win over Marinko Matosevic in Newport at the beginning of the month.

However, I think Matosevic has been set as the favourite because of the form he showed on Los Angeles last week where he reached the Semi Final, while Levine has not won a match on the hard courts so far this season (on the Main Tour).

Levine has won a couple of qualifying matches here to get to this stage so will be more than familiar with the conditions and that may give him an edge in this one.


MY PICKS: Sabine Lisicki @ 1.96 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Marcos Baghdatis + 3.5 games @ 1.94 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Jesse Levine @ 2.25 Sporting Bet (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 2-5, - 4.72 Units (13 Units Staked)