EP36's Tennis Things I THINK I THINK

[EaglesPhan36]

Good luck. I think Davydenko is going to roll, but my day plus of picks has been shit so you have a shot!

[EaglesPhan36]

I gotta quit playing so many matches already, sucking it up. Gonna try and stick to two plays per day. Heh.

[beefcake]

the real question is baggy ready for roddick? Should be a cracking match..Id lean over..

[EaglesPhan36]

Holy shit! The Gasman choked for me in the 2nd set. Over is a winner after all. He was up 5-2 and lost in a tie break. Not real sure on Baghdatis and Roddick. Roddick has always seemed too powerful for him in their head-2-heads and you've got Roddick unbeaten in seven tries on this court in the past two tournaments here. Depends where they hang the number on O/U. Will obviously be at least 23, but do they go the extra to 23.5?

[brandoc]

Nadal just got rolled 6-zip in the second set. Is he actually playing that badly or has Lacko brought his A-game?

[EaglesPhan36]

Just consistency lacking. He had troubles in the 1st set in his opener too and then found himself. Won easy in the 3rd today. Gasquet wound up losing.

[beefcake]

Wow, nadal bagel? Who does he play next?...I might take a gander there if its anyone with any kind of game..

[beefcake]

Dr Ivo wins again!..Dishing out aces and kickin ASS!!

[Glitch]

Kendrick is God awful today. I THINK I'm going to try Gasquet-Phau OVER 21 at -108. Phau can be competitive on this surface, I THINK. He has to serve well and hold his serve deep into these sets. Gasquet should be solid again, but doesn't always bring it from set to set still.

kendrick killed my otherwise winning sbr points parlay

[beefcake]

Plays winner of donkey/jarkko...Another good price no doubt..tasty!

[beefcake]

kendrick killed my otherwise winning sbr points parlay

After watching kendrick play in person back in nov, he looked like he had quite alot of game, but of course that was in the challengers, he has the serve and return to hang with 50 or below guys, but dont know what happened here.

[brandoc]

I watched the 3rd set and whilst never thought he´d lose, he certainly wasn´t dominant either. Gave a break back, had to save a couple of other break points and - similar to his loss in Bangkok last year, failed himself to convert various break chances. That´s the beauty of Nadal though, he´s so mentally strong that he can miss so many chances but still be too stubborn to lose.. unlike Kuznetskova againt Peng last night - i´m still trying to find a way to enjoy betting on WTA, perhaps that should be the definition of having a gambling habit.

[EaglesPhan36]

Always said Nadal's service games are among the most nerve racking still for a top player. Guy goes to deuce a lot.

[beefcake]

Did you see how crappy donkey served today and how many times almost got broke? Dr Ivo is going to kill him!!

[brandoc]

Did you see how crappy donkey served today and how many times almost got broke? Dr Ivo is going to kill him!!

Haven't been all that impressed with Ivo say far to be honest, five sets now gone to tie-breaks and i can imagine if it goes to three sets again his fitness will be tested.

Anyone like any of these games in Auckland? Peng usually follows up a big comeback win with a diabolically average performance, but I think this girl Watson doesn't have it in her for two big wins in a row.

[EaglesPhan36]

BRISBANE 1.5.11
I am a big proponent of stick to two picks when you choose your parlay. Often times it seems smart to load up on higher chalk and go for a bigger payout with three, four or more picks in your parlay - for me, I THINK two is sexy. Tonight, the early part of the parlay I THINK I shall start with the Russian teen, Pavlyuchenkova in Brisbane. She burst onto the scene early in 2010 in Australia with a quarterfinal showing at this tournament. Then she turned it up as the year went on, eventually grabbing two titles on outdoor hard courts. She has a serve that when it is on, brings power to it that a lot of the ladies cannot rival. She is not immune to the yips as evidenced with her double faults in her opener here, but she got better last match and rolled out 10 aces. Safarova will pose a test, but she has been on-court a lot of minutes already. She went three sets in both matches. If she offers up as many breakers as she did against Peer, the Russian should have her chances to continue her solid play here. Pairing her later with Kevin Anderson in Brisbane. The Big Stick has been good for bettors this week with two neat wins where his serve has been powerful and mostly unstoppable. He draws Giraldo who can be tricky at times, but on this surface if Anderson brings the heat consistently - he should be able to move on and further establish himself as a threat on the ATP tour. Pair 'em up for +152.

[noober]

I actually like both dogs to win in these matches but I just played Safarova. Good luck.

[EaglesPhan36]

Pavlyuchenkova is the more vulnerable of the two IMO. Her serve could always desert her long enough to hurt her. I think Anderson is way too good for Giraldo. Giraldo scored two nice upsets, but neither Simon nor Becker played great tennis. Anderson is playing very well right now, a carry-over from last year and this is the surface he is best on vs. Giraldo who is tricky, but better on dirt. You might split those picks, but I'd be surprised if both dogs won. I'll wish you good luck ... with your next picks.

[noober]

Did you know that Kevin Anderson played for Illinois for 3 years before turning pro? I would have never guessed that he would make it to top 100 so quickly. Also, at that time Craig Tailey was the head coach and now he is the head of Tennis Australia so Anderson has all the support he wants in this continent.

[EaglesPhan36]

Yeah I think I read that last year some time. To me, he is the next "John Isner or Sam Querrey" type - a tall kid with power, except I think Anderson's build while still a little slight ... may allow him to hold up and move better than Isner or Querrey who are a bit heavier. I think if Anderson packs on the right amount of muscle, he's going to a real threat on hard courts.

[Tsonga]

I watched the Roddick match EP and I really don't think anything dodgy was going on. Roddick was having trouble at the start of the match because Dolgo almost plays the same style as him to a tee so the usual Roddick tricks weren't as effective. Eventually though, Andy started firing up the aces and even though Dolgo's power remained, his shots just weren't getting by Andy once he adjusted. Dolgo did make some silly errors too though so that always helps.

Regardless, I'll never put money on that punk. So much potential but he's dead to me now after the end of last year.

are you getting this tourney on local tv?

[EaglesPhan36]

Rain has hit Brisbane. Might not be a lot of tennis there in the next couple of days outside of the Center Court schedule which is covered.

[beefcake]

sharapova.....

[EaglesPhan36]

Matches restarting! Hopefully they can get some play in here in the next few hours.

[EaglesPhan36]

1.6.11
I THINK there is a reason the price is so low on Nadal for tomorrow. He's under the weather. Nadal has admitted as much, so I THINK you might be able to make a case for taking Gulbis at a nice price. Especially seeing as Rafa foolishly played doubles after his tough match against Lacko. I THINK he's going to get caught fatigued either this round or the next. Gulbis +275. Looking for another parlay for Thursday? I am. I THINK Tipsarevic is a solid place to start. The Serb made the semis in Chennai last year and was solid in his opener. He draws the qualifier Kudryavtsev. The Russian has done some nice things on the Challenge level on this surface, but faces a large step up from the quality he has faced so far here and he does not have a signature scalp on this surface yet. Don't THINK this is the time for him to get that. I'll couple Tipsy with Tsonga. Garcia-Lopez is the competition and he upset Tsonga on clay last year, but the Frenchman has won both their hard court meetings. GGL was solid in rounds one and two here as was Tsonga. GGL had two very impressive hard court tournaments late last year, but it remains to be seen if that was a mirage or something he can do routinely because he is still just slightly above 50% for his career in this outdoor hard court setting. JWT has been unbreakable on serve with just one break opp given. He appears healthy and focused. He'll face his first real test of the tournament, so I THINK I expect him to come with a good performance if he can maintain his serve and show a good nerve when he needs it. Parlay it at -106.

[shari91]

are you getting this tourney on local tv?

Yeah. Tennis all day and all night for the next couple of weeks.

[spargament]

Yeah I think I read that last year some time. To me, he is the next "John Isner or Sam Querrey" type - a tall kid with power, except I think Anderson's build while still a little slight ... may allow him to hold up and move better than Isner or Querrey who are a bit heavier. I think if Anderson packs on the right amount of muscle, he's going to a real threat on hard courts.

Isner is so tall that I'd have Oden-esque concerns about his future if he was that much leaner, unless he's packed on significant weight over the past 4 or so months. His legs and knees wouldn't support the body.

[sharlataans]

1.6.11
I THINK there is a reason the price is so low on Nadal for tomorrow. He's under the weather. Nadal has admitted as much, so I THINK you might be able to make a case for taking Gulbis at a nice price. Especially seeing as Rafa foolishly played doubles after his tough match against Lacko. I THINK he's going to get caught fatigued either this round or the next. Gulbis +275. Looking for another parlay for Thursday? I am. I THINK Tipsarevic is a solid place to start. The Serb made the semis in Chennai last year and was solid in his opener. He draws the qualifier Kudryavtsev. The Russian has done some nice things on the Challenge level on this surface, but faces a large step up from the quality he has faced so far here and he does not have a signature scalp on this surface yet. Don't THINK this is the time for him to get that. I'll couple Tipsy with Tsonga. Garcia-Lopez is the competition and he upset Tsonga on clay last year, but the Frenchman has won both their hard court meetings. GGL was solid in rounds one and two here as was Tsonga. GGL had two very impressive hard court tournaments late last year, but it remains to be seen if that was a mirage or something he can do routinely because he is still just slightly above 50% for his career in this outdoor hard court setting. JWT has been unbreakable on serve with just one break opp given. He appears healthy and focused. He'll face his first real test of the tournament, so I THINK I expect him to come with a good performance if he can maintain his serve and show a good nerve when he needs it. Parlay it at -106.

Well I watched how Gulbis plays this year and to me he has nothing but big serve. He wins over players who cannot handle his serve. I think as much as Nadal is tired he will roll easily

[SaffaCappa]

Take Gulbis to win a set at +110 ... Safer bet

[EaglesPhan36]

Both parlays hit. Gulbis price dropping. Looks like many are aboard the Nadal fatigue-ill angle. We'll see.

[EaglesPhan36]

I THINK I am going to go with the Over at 24 for the Donkey-Ivo showdown. Ivo has gone all tie-breaks here and even when Donkey-denko was it his best, Karlovic was tough on him due to the serve.

Nice showing by Rafa. Still thought Gulbis was worth a shot today.

[sharlataans]

I THINK I am going to go with the Over at 24 for the Donkey-Ivo showdown. Ivo has gone all tie-breaks here and even when Donkey-denko was it his best, Karlovic was tough on him due to the serve.

Nice showing by Rafa. Still thought Gulbis was worth a shot today.

You are right, Gulbis stiffened Rafa up. He is too proud to quit or lose to someone like Gulbis.

[EaglesPhan36]

A better and more consistent player would have put Rafa on the ropes after Rafa blew the 4-2 lead in the 1st. I'll play Davydenko most likely tomorrow since that's where that one seems headed. I don't know if Davydenko is consistent enough right now, but he's always given Rafa fits.

[EaglesPhan36]

Dr.Ivo, you suck. Had Donkey in a couple break opps in the 2nd, could not do shit and then got broken. I always seem to pick these matches for him where his serve runs out.

[beefcake]

Man I'm sticking to totals. I cant pick sides in tennis and I don't have time anyway with school coming up. I defer to folks with WAY better knowledge and time than me on this site. Im a follower, not a leader.