Tennis Picks 2013 (July 12th)

Another very positive day is in the bag after the picks went 4-0 on Thursday and now we have the Quarter Finals in Stuttgart and Bastad, while that same Round is completed in Newport. All three outright picks are still in their respective draws, although all have tough routes to win the tournaments.

Here are my picks from Friday's Quarter Finals at the various tournaments.


Fernando Verdasco v Nicolas Almagro: Out of the two of these players, you would have to say the recent form favours the lower Ranked Fernando Verdasco to reach the Semi Final.

However, Nicolas Almagro will also feel confident having enjoyed recent success at the tournament in Bastad and fresh of a decent come from behind win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the Second Round.

Both players will have their supporters, but Fernando Verdasco has looked the better player this week and he will believe he has the upper hand in this one as he has a 5-2 head to head record against Almagro on the clay courts.

Many of the Spanish players seem to be a little overawed when they play Verdasco (unless their name is Rafael Nadal) and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that this is one player that can take the racquet out of their hands with his heavy groundstrokes.

If Almagro is as loose with his shots as he was in his win on Thursday, you would think Verdasco will have a few chances to break serve and I think the underdog in this contest has to be worth backing on recent form.


Tommy Haas - 3.5 games v Fabio Fognini: After the first set, it seemed that Tommy Haas was going to waltz through to the Quarter Final on Thursday, but it turned out to be a tough three set battle for the German Number 1 seed.

He faces Fabio Fognini, a player that looks set to have his best season on the Tour. For a long time, Fognini has shown flashes of ability,but inconsistency blighted his game. Now, Fognini has found ways to win matches and move his Ranking upwards and he has come through two Rounds here comfortably.

The problem for Fognini remains that his serve isn't the best and that means he has to work for every point he earns and it will be tough to do that against Haas in this one. On the other hand, the German is likely to be able to hold serve in a more comfortable manner with his first serve being the particularly dominant shot in this match.

While the clay courts are not the favourite surface that Haas enjoys, he has played well enough on the dirt this season to think he will find a way to break serve one more time than Fognini in each set to come through 64, 64.


Gael Monfils - 3.5 games v Philipp Kohlschreiber: Gael Monfils admitted that he started fairly nervously in his match against Florian Mayer in the Second Round, but he felt much better about his game by the time the match was concluded. He should be able to bring that confidence in against a player that he has beaten five times in a row and has won eight of nine previous matches against.

Monfils was serving pretty effectively by the time the match with Mayer was concluded, but Philipp Kohlschreiber is also capable of serving very effectively and a high percentage of first serves would make it tough for Monfils.

This could be a match that is decided by small margins, but Monfils has shown some decent form in the last couple of months after a tough 2013 that has been disrupted by injuries. I think the extra day off between matches would have helped Monfils keep his fitness in check for this match and I like him to come through in a tough battle, possibly 76, 63.


John Isner - 2.5 games v Ivo Karlovic: I really thought the injury suffered by John Isner at Wimbledon would have kept him off the Tour for at least a month, but he has been back in action in Newport and has played well so far to move through to the Quarter Final.

While Isner looked liked he had suffered a bad injury, Ivo Karlovic is back on the Tour after a period out suffering a meningitis viral infection and he has admitted that the week so far has taken its toll on his fitness.

Nothing can make up for playing matches and while Karlovic feels he has been given a new lease on his tennis career, it will take a little bit of time to get back to the fitness required to play a number of matches in a short space of time. The day off yesterday would have helped, but the big serving Croatian has not been at his dominant best behind serve this week.

That could cause problems at some point in this one and I expect scoreboard pressure to tell as John Isner is able to get away in a second set following a tight first set. I think the two time defending Champion at Newport comes through 76, 63.


Lleyton Hewitt - 4.5 games v Jan Hernych: Lleyton Hewitt hasn't been as dominant as his two wins this week suggest, but I still think the Australian will be a little too strong for Jan Hernych in the final Quarter Final at Newport.

Hernych is not someone to take lightly considering this is his second Quarter Final on the grass courts this season, but he was a little fortunate to come through the last Round here and he isn't serving as effectively as he could.

I think Hewitt, who is one of the better returners the Tour has seen, will be able to get involved in the Czech player's service games and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more breaks of serve than is usual on the grass courts.

I believe that Hewitt should be able to come through comfortably enough if Hernych can't get a real command on his serve as he has failed to do in the last couple of matches and the Australian is the best returner he would have seen this week. After a few breaks of serve, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Hewitt make it through to the Semi Final with a 75, 63 win/


MY PICKS: Fernando Verdasco @ 2.20 Bet 365 (2 Units)
Tommy Haas - 3.5 Games @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Gael Monfils - 3.5 Games @ 2.05 Pinnacle (2 Units)
John Isner - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Lleyton Hewitt - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 12-2, + 18.24 Units (26 Units Staked, + 70.15% Yield)