03/11/08 Full Card
WTA Gold Coast: Shahar Peer (ISR) vs Dinara Safina (RUS) - Today, 00:30 GMT
Shahar Peer, after a rusty first set in the first round of this tournament, has been playing extremely well in here. She has only dropped 5 games in the last 3 sets she has played and this is clearly a surface that favors her. She is extremely fit right now, as she was in the Israeli army in the off-season and her defensive skills are just too annoying for players that don't have patience on court, like Safina. The Israeli faced her opponent of today in this very same tournament last year in the semi finals, where she lost after being up a set and a break in the second set. A rain delay killed her momentum and when they returned to the court, Safina was capable of recovering and winning the match and the tournament later on. So, this is a revenge game for Peer. The Israeli player has been improving in the last months and she should be close to the Top 10 at the end of this season. Her hardcourt skills are wonderful and she seems to be capable of causing problems to every player in the circuit on a good day.
Dinara Safina continues to be just like her brother Marat. She has the talent, but she lacks patience. She struggled to defeat Flavia Pennetta in a match that lasted two hours yesterday. She made 10 double faults during the match and got broken six times. She has a nice first serve, but when she can only put 53% first serves in like yesterday, she struggles to hold serve, especially against good returners like Peer. She is error-prone and even though she is defending the title in here, she hasn't showed nothing that makes me think that she has a shot to win Gold Coast again. She left the Top 10 and now she is just the 15th of the world and honestly I think she is going to be closer to 20th position than the 10th position at the end of the season.
I think Safina is just the favorite in here because she won the title last year. But she only won it, thanks to a mega choke of Peer that allowed the Russian player to recover and win her semi final match against the Israeli player. That won't happen two times in a row, I'm sure of that. Safina is playing worse than twelve months ago, while Peer is playing better now. The Israeli is the better player of the two on hardcourt and she should get this one. UPSET OF THE WEEK!
Play 2* units on Shahar Peer to win @ +118
WTA Auckland: Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) vs Aravane Rezai (FRA) - Today, 06:00 GMT
What can we say about Srebotnik's form this week? She has played two matches and she has only dropped one game! In the first round, she defeated Anastassia Rodionova by 6:0 3:0 ret. and in the second round, Yvonne Meusburger was the victim, losing by 6:0 6:1. Srebotnik is a wonderful hardcourt player, especially thanks to her good serve and to her versatile game, that allows her to adopt different tactics, according to the style of the opponent she faces. She is a former winner of this tournament and the conditions in here couldn't be better for her. She has a very nice shot to reach the 24th position this week, something that would be very important, as that would prevent her from playing one of the eight first seeds in the 3rd round of the Australian Open.
Aravane Rezai has some talent, but she can't handle the power that she has. She is having a good week in here, but she is yet to face someone with the caliber of Srebotnik on hardcourt. The French player doesn't move very well on court and she is going to pay the price for that, as Srebotnik can open the angles very well with her backhand and that will prevent Rezai for hitting her powerful strokes on a good position. Her serve isn't very strong and she will have problems in recovering if she is one break down in a set, as Srebotnik is pretty hard to break.
The bookies are overrating Rezai in here. She has defeated Daniilidou, but the Greek player has problems against hard hitters, unlike Srebotnik. The Slovenian player is playing extremely well in here and she's going to take this one in straight sets.
Play 1* unit on Katarina Srebotnik to win 2-0 @ +120
ATP Adelaide: Vince Spadea (USA) vs Mischa Zverev (GER) - Today, 08:30 GMT
Talk about Spadea is talk about one of the most experienced and versatile players in the circuit. But if there is something he can do pretty well, that's returning big serves. It's not a coincidence that he has beaten in the last two years big servers like Robert Kendrick, Sam Querrey, Kristof Vliegen, Raemon Sluiter, Radek Stepanek, Wesley Moodie, Amer Delic and Thomas Johansson on fast surfaces like this one. Spadea is showing in the last few years that he likes to play in Australia and he has actually reached quarter finals in this tournament last season. He also showed that he is playing well, by defeating the experienced and world class player Sebastien Grosjean by 4:6 6:1 6:3 in the first round. He had two days to rest and now he is ready to take on the young but talented Zverev.
Mischa Zverev is one of the biggest German hopes for the future, but he still lacks experience on the main tour. He has only played 21 matches on ATP level, while Spadea has more than 10 times that. He easily defeated Florian Mayer in the first round, who looks to go nowhere but out of Top 100 nowadays and now he is going to have a way tougher matchup with Spadea. Zverev isn't a good returner and with Spadea always threatening his serve, I can't see why the German should be the favorite in here. I would only admit Zverev to be the favorite on an indoor surface, but never on outdoor hard.
Spadea is a world class returner and he has a nice serve and lots of experience, things that will help him in beating Zverev. The German player has a big serve, but nothing really good besides that to hurt the experienced American player. Spadea has reached quarter finals in here last season and I think he is reach this round again this season. Take the American player to win in here.
Play 1* unit on Vince Spadea to win @ +115
WTA Gold Coast - Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs Patty Schnyder (SWI) - Today, 08:30 GMT
Amelie Mauresmo is in this tournament ready to make a statement. She had a terrible season last year, thanks to an appendicitis, but now she looks ready to get back to the Top 5, where she belongs. After an easy 6:1 6:1 win against the qualifier Savchuk in the first round, Mauresmo defeated the player in the circuit that better knows her, Nathalie Dechy, by 6:3 6:4, in a match that I honestly thought would be much closer than it really was. She is serving quite well and her mix of technique and power continues to be unique in the circuit. Very few players (read Henin + 1/2 players) can actually counter her style of play and when that doesn't happen, Mauresmo just rolls over her opponents. That's what it uses to happen when she faces Schnyder.
These two players have faced each other 17 times! Mauresmo has won 12, 7 of the last 10 and the last 5 times they have played. Mauresmo has no problem in handling Schnyder's technical game, as she possesses technical weapons more than necessary to counter the Swiss player and then Mauresmo has way more power than Schnyder and she uses to have little problems in overpowering the Swiss player. Schnyder had an easy first round, but then took three sets to defeat Francesca Schiavone, who isn't playing very well since the last Summer.
Mauresmo literally owns Schnyder and she has found the perfect victim to make a statement in here. The French player is an horrible matchup for Schnyder, who struggles a lot against the French player, especially outside clay. Take Mauresmo minus the games in here.
Play 1* unit on Amelie Mauresmo (-3,5 Games) @ -118
ATP Chennai - Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (SPA) vs Werner Eschauer (AUT) - Today, GMT
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is one of the few Spanish players that prefers fast surfaces over clay. After a bad Summer last season, he has regrouped and ended the season with a win on a challenger in Tunis, on hardcourt. And it seems he has brought that good shape into the new season. He has easily defeated in the first round the tricky qualifier Alexander Peya by 6:4 6:4, in a match that showed that GGL is close to his best tennis again. He returned extremely well in that match, something very important if he wants to take advantage of the very easy draw he has in here until the quarter finals.
Werner Eschauer barely defeated the wild carder Bartolome Salva-Vidal on a close three set match in the first round. Salva-Vidal is just the number 326 of the world, so this shows how bad in Eschauer on fast surfaces. The Austrian player is just 3-10 on matches played at ATP level outside clay and I can't see this record getting better soon. Eschauer has a game 100% made for clay and I don't think he will get better on fast surfaces, now that he is 33 years old.
Garcia-Lopez is the only good hardcourt player of the two in here and he should get the win in here. He is a former finalist in Chennai and he has all the weapons to easily take care of Eschauer. Take the Spanish player minus the games in here.
Pick 1* unit on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (-2,5 Games) @ -118
Small plays:
Play 0,5* units on Vera Zvonareva vs Marina Erakovic Under 19 Games @ -125
Good luck!
WTA Gold Coast: Shahar Peer (ISR) vs Dinara Safina (RUS) - Today, 00:30 GMT
Shahar Peer, after a rusty first set in the first round of this tournament, has been playing extremely well in here. She has only dropped 5 games in the last 3 sets she has played and this is clearly a surface that favors her. She is extremely fit right now, as she was in the Israeli army in the off-season and her defensive skills are just too annoying for players that don't have patience on court, like Safina. The Israeli faced her opponent of today in this very same tournament last year in the semi finals, where she lost after being up a set and a break in the second set. A rain delay killed her momentum and when they returned to the court, Safina was capable of recovering and winning the match and the tournament later on. So, this is a revenge game for Peer. The Israeli player has been improving in the last months and she should be close to the Top 10 at the end of this season. Her hardcourt skills are wonderful and she seems to be capable of causing problems to every player in the circuit on a good day.
Dinara Safina continues to be just like her brother Marat. She has the talent, but she lacks patience. She struggled to defeat Flavia Pennetta in a match that lasted two hours yesterday. She made 10 double faults during the match and got broken six times. She has a nice first serve, but when she can only put 53% first serves in like yesterday, she struggles to hold serve, especially against good returners like Peer. She is error-prone and even though she is defending the title in here, she hasn't showed nothing that makes me think that she has a shot to win Gold Coast again. She left the Top 10 and now she is just the 15th of the world and honestly I think she is going to be closer to 20th position than the 10th position at the end of the season.
I think Safina is just the favorite in here because she won the title last year. But she only won it, thanks to a mega choke of Peer that allowed the Russian player to recover and win her semi final match against the Israeli player. That won't happen two times in a row, I'm sure of that. Safina is playing worse than twelve months ago, while Peer is playing better now. The Israeli is the better player of the two on hardcourt and she should get this one. UPSET OF THE WEEK!
Play 2* units on Shahar Peer to win @ +118
WTA Auckland: Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) vs Aravane Rezai (FRA) - Today, 06:00 GMT
What can we say about Srebotnik's form this week? She has played two matches and she has only dropped one game! In the first round, she defeated Anastassia Rodionova by 6:0 3:0 ret. and in the second round, Yvonne Meusburger was the victim, losing by 6:0 6:1. Srebotnik is a wonderful hardcourt player, especially thanks to her good serve and to her versatile game, that allows her to adopt different tactics, according to the style of the opponent she faces. She is a former winner of this tournament and the conditions in here couldn't be better for her. She has a very nice shot to reach the 24th position this week, something that would be very important, as that would prevent her from playing one of the eight first seeds in the 3rd round of the Australian Open.
Aravane Rezai has some talent, but she can't handle the power that she has. She is having a good week in here, but she is yet to face someone with the caliber of Srebotnik on hardcourt. The French player doesn't move very well on court and she is going to pay the price for that, as Srebotnik can open the angles very well with her backhand and that will prevent Rezai for hitting her powerful strokes on a good position. Her serve isn't very strong and she will have problems in recovering if she is one break down in a set, as Srebotnik is pretty hard to break.
The bookies are overrating Rezai in here. She has defeated Daniilidou, but the Greek player has problems against hard hitters, unlike Srebotnik. The Slovenian player is playing extremely well in here and she's going to take this one in straight sets.
Play 1* unit on Katarina Srebotnik to win 2-0 @ +120
ATP Adelaide: Vince Spadea (USA) vs Mischa Zverev (GER) - Today, 08:30 GMT
Talk about Spadea is talk about one of the most experienced and versatile players in the circuit. But if there is something he can do pretty well, that's returning big serves. It's not a coincidence that he has beaten in the last two years big servers like Robert Kendrick, Sam Querrey, Kristof Vliegen, Raemon Sluiter, Radek Stepanek, Wesley Moodie, Amer Delic and Thomas Johansson on fast surfaces like this one. Spadea is showing in the last few years that he likes to play in Australia and he has actually reached quarter finals in this tournament last season. He also showed that he is playing well, by defeating the experienced and world class player Sebastien Grosjean by 4:6 6:1 6:3 in the first round. He had two days to rest and now he is ready to take on the young but talented Zverev.
Mischa Zverev is one of the biggest German hopes for the future, but he still lacks experience on the main tour. He has only played 21 matches on ATP level, while Spadea has more than 10 times that. He easily defeated Florian Mayer in the first round, who looks to go nowhere but out of Top 100 nowadays and now he is going to have a way tougher matchup with Spadea. Zverev isn't a good returner and with Spadea always threatening his serve, I can't see why the German should be the favorite in here. I would only admit Zverev to be the favorite on an indoor surface, but never on outdoor hard.
Spadea is a world class returner and he has a nice serve and lots of experience, things that will help him in beating Zverev. The German player has a big serve, but nothing really good besides that to hurt the experienced American player. Spadea has reached quarter finals in here last season and I think he is reach this round again this season. Take the American player to win in here.
Play 1* unit on Vince Spadea to win @ +115
WTA Gold Coast - Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs Patty Schnyder (SWI) - Today, 08:30 GMT
Amelie Mauresmo is in this tournament ready to make a statement. She had a terrible season last year, thanks to an appendicitis, but now she looks ready to get back to the Top 5, where she belongs. After an easy 6:1 6:1 win against the qualifier Savchuk in the first round, Mauresmo defeated the player in the circuit that better knows her, Nathalie Dechy, by 6:3 6:4, in a match that I honestly thought would be much closer than it really was. She is serving quite well and her mix of technique and power continues to be unique in the circuit. Very few players (read Henin + 1/2 players) can actually counter her style of play and when that doesn't happen, Mauresmo just rolls over her opponents. That's what it uses to happen when she faces Schnyder.
These two players have faced each other 17 times! Mauresmo has won 12, 7 of the last 10 and the last 5 times they have played. Mauresmo has no problem in handling Schnyder's technical game, as she possesses technical weapons more than necessary to counter the Swiss player and then Mauresmo has way more power than Schnyder and she uses to have little problems in overpowering the Swiss player. Schnyder had an easy first round, but then took three sets to defeat Francesca Schiavone, who isn't playing very well since the last Summer.
Mauresmo literally owns Schnyder and she has found the perfect victim to make a statement in here. The French player is an horrible matchup for Schnyder, who struggles a lot against the French player, especially outside clay. Take Mauresmo minus the games in here.
Play 1* unit on Amelie Mauresmo (-3,5 Games) @ -118
ATP Chennai - Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (SPA) vs Werner Eschauer (AUT) - Today, GMT
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is one of the few Spanish players that prefers fast surfaces over clay. After a bad Summer last season, he has regrouped and ended the season with a win on a challenger in Tunis, on hardcourt. And it seems he has brought that good shape into the new season. He has easily defeated in the first round the tricky qualifier Alexander Peya by 6:4 6:4, in a match that showed that GGL is close to his best tennis again. He returned extremely well in that match, something very important if he wants to take advantage of the very easy draw he has in here until the quarter finals.
Werner Eschauer barely defeated the wild carder Bartolome Salva-Vidal on a close three set match in the first round. Salva-Vidal is just the number 326 of the world, so this shows how bad in Eschauer on fast surfaces. The Austrian player is just 3-10 on matches played at ATP level outside clay and I can't see this record getting better soon. Eschauer has a game 100% made for clay and I don't think he will get better on fast surfaces, now that he is 33 years old.
Garcia-Lopez is the only good hardcourt player of the two in here and he should get the win in here. He is a former finalist in Chennai and he has all the weapons to easily take care of Eschauer. Take the Spanish player minus the games in here.
Pick 1* unit on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (-2,5 Games) @ -118
Small plays:
Play 0,5* units on Vera Zvonareva vs Marina Erakovic Under 19 Games @ -125
Good luck!