Tennis
2008-06-23 - Wimbledon- Day 1 vs
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Day 1 picks
Juan Carlos Ferrero v Sam Querrey
Ferrero plays his first match since retiring with a leg injury at the French Open last month and the Spaniard has retired from 2 of the last 3 tournaments. He has always performed solidly on grass and reached the QF at this tournament last year. He has made at least the 3rd round at Wimbledon in the last 6 years.
Querrey has all the tools to be succesful on a grass court, but he has yet to fulfil his potential. He has not been on great form recently and only managed a 1-2 record in the 2 grass tournaments he has played so far this year. Last year, Querrey lost in the 1st round here.
Querrey will win a lot of cheap points on his own serve but Ferrero has shown his game translates well onto grass and is the better returner of the 2. I would be worried about Ferrero's fitness, but the price is very big and could be made to look very big if Ferrero is indeed ready.
Patty Schnyder v Casey Dellacqua
Schnyder comes into this tournament without any match practice on the grass courts but after reaching the QF at the French Open and in Rome. Her grass court season has never really got started and she had not gone past round 2 at Wimbledon until reaching the 4th round last year. Previously, Schnyder had 2 1st round exits and 2 2nd round exits.
Dellacqua has been struggling in recent tournaments but will hope her 3 matches on grass this season may give her an edge over her opponent. She has only ever played in the 1st round once at Wimbledon after she qualified last year.
Dellacqua also managed to beat Schnyder at the Australian Open earlier this season and could be worth chancing for another surprise victory here.
Philip Kohlschreiber v Fernando Verdasco
Kohlschreiber had his best result on grass in his career last week when reaching the final of Halle but ended up losing to Roger Federer. Before that tournament he had been struggling to pick up wins and was a 1st round casualty at the French Open. The German has only progressed past the 1st round at Wimbledon on 1 occasion from his 3 entries. Last season he was beaten in straight sets by Florent Serra.
Verdasco is playing some strong tennis in recent weeks, following up his 4th round appearance in the French Open with a runner up spot in a grass tournament at Nottingham last week. His best result at Wimbledon was a 4th round 2 years ago and last year he made the 3rd round. Verdasco has progressed beyond round 1 in each of the last 4 years.
Kohlschreiber holds a 2-0 record over Verdasco but neither match was played on this surface and both went to 3 sets. Both matches took place 2 years ago.
Verdasco has the stronger grass court game during their careers and I think he can win this match even though he is considered the underdog.
BEST BETTING TIP :
Juan Carlos Ferrero @ 1.95 (Centrebet)Casey Dellacqua @ 2.11 (Pinnacle)
Fernando Verdasco @ 2.24 (Pinnacle)
Fernando Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych, Alize Cornet, Mario Ancic, Ivo Karlovic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Alona Bondarenko, Agnieszka Radwanska, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Ferrer Accumulator @ approx 6.29
