Tennis Picks 2015 (July 20th)

Another week on the tennis Tour is in the books, but that only means five new tournaments are going to begin their main draws on Monday. We have three on the ATP Tour which is fully returned having also had Davis Cup action last week, while there are two events on the WTA Tour.

Three of the events being played this week are going to be played on the clay courts, but the other two events in Istanbul and in Bogota are hard court events with the biggest names out there this week being Venus Williams, Gael Monfils and David Goffin.

Some times you can look through a draw and players that might be Seeded to see that they are not the strongest and that is the case this week. However, it isn't wise to just dismiss the tournaments as players will be aware of the chance they have to pick up some vital Ranking points in the remainder of the month before the move to the North American hard courts and the return of some of the biggest names in the sport in preparation for the US Open.


Last week also some drama in the Davis Cup as Argentina, Australia, Belgium and Great Britain made it through to the Semi Finals in contrasting manners.

Argentina were comfortable 3-0 winners over Serbia, but had to give a huge amount of credit to Federico Delbonis who came back from 0-2 down in sets against Victor Troicki in the second rubber to put the home team in a commanding position.

Australia were 0-2 down in rubbers going into Saturday, but that is when Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt took over from younger compatriots Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis to lead the team through. After partnering one another in the Doubles, both Groth and Hewitt were drafted in for the fourth and fifth rubbers and responded by winning six of seven sets to move through.

After Canada were missing their two top Singles players, it was no surprise that Belgium moved into the Semi Final with what was described as a 'professional' win by their captain and their Semi Final with Argentina looks a fascinating one to call. Belgium will be at home and have the stand out player in David Goffin, but Argentina look to have the better depth and I like their chances of progressing to another Davis Cup Final.

The final tie of the Quarter Finals saw Andy Murray line up for three straight days to help Great Britain move into the Semi Final and they are now favourites to win the Davis Cup. It will come down to Murray you feel and the home tie with Australia looks to be a brilliant one for everyone to look forward to, although the placement just a week after the end of the US Open is probably not ideal.

You would think it is going to come down to the Doubles again in September with Murray expected to win both rubbers and James Ward a big underdog to even win one, but you would understand Great Britain being a strong favourite right now. Ward has raised his game in Davis Cup in the past and Australia have a mix of players that are all 'inconsistent' to put things mildly and prone to perhaps throwing in a dud of a rubber.

Both Semi Finals should be fun ties though and the crowds should get their moneys worth when they take to the court in the middle of September.


Monday is really a day where the remaining qualifiers dominate, but a few of the main draw matches have been scheduled across the events. Last week looked like it was going to be a really disappointing one the week after Wimbledon, but late winners during the week has restricted the loss, but I will be expecting a much cleaner week this time around.

The tournaments in Bastad, Bogota and Umag on the ATP Tour have only scheduled a couple of main draw matches on the Monday and none of those have really appealed to me, but I have found a couple of matches that have come within my criteria.

However, I will have to wait until the markets are up to confirm that those picks fit with what I am looking for before they are posted here.

EDIT: There might be a few matches today, but none of those have been appealing enough for me to make a pick on Monday, but I am sure there will be a couple of picks from Tuesday once the schedules have been released.

Weekly Final: 12-12, - 2.10 Units (48 Units Staked, - 4.38% Yield)

Season 2015: + 35.25 Units (1146 Units Staked, + 3.08% Yield)

Season 2014: + 45.05 Units (1586.5 Units Staked, + 2.84% Yield)
Season 2013: + 21.74 Units (1251.5 Units Staked, + 1.73% Yield)
Season 2012: + 49.21 Units (855 Units Staked, + 5.76% Yield)