posted May 22, 2008 at 18:47 in Tennis Free Picks

Portschach, Austria – In online tennis betting at BetUS Sportsbook, there is a whole slew of tennis matchups to bet on. One such matchup is the semi-final between defending champion Juan Monaco and Ivan Ljubicic at the Hypo Group International. Sports betting enthusiasts who enjoy betting on tennis have a great opportunity to hone their handicapping skills, just in time for the French Open next week. So to help you get started betting on tennis here is a look at this stellar matchup in the final four in Portschach.

Tennis Betting Line: Ivan Ljubicic +190 Juan Monaco -275

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Friday May 23, 2008

Head-to-head Analysis The one and only meeting between Ljubicic and Monaco occurred at the French Open in 2006. Ljubicic took the R32 match in five sets, beating Monaco 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-2. This is their second career meeting and second on clay.

Juan Monaco (-275) No.14 Juan Monaco enters this tournament as the defending champion. He won Portschach last year – one of three clay court titles he picked up in the 2007 season. Favoured at -275, by virtue of being the reigning champion Monaco would be a good bet. However, recent form has been a concern. After getting off to a good start this year, reaching the final in Vina del Mar, Monaco suffered a foot injury that caused him to withdraw from the final (handing Gonzalez the title on a walkover). Since then, Monaco’s tournament play has been varied. A string of disappointing outings in tournaments ensued during the hard court season. With the European clay court swing, expectations were Monaco’s season would go on the uptake. However a 6-4 mark, with a R16 appearance in Hamburg, fell short of expectations. His semi-final berth in Portschach is his best performance thus far. Can he go one better?

Ivan Ljubicic (+190) At 29-years-old, Ivan Ljubicic is considered one of the veteran players on the tour. However, Ljubicic is positively youthful and at +190 holds value. A former top 10 player, Ljubicic has been struggling this season. He arrived in Portschach with a 10-9 mark for the season, improving to 13-9 with victories over Jiri Hajek, Ivan Navarro and Gimeno-Traver. During the clay court swing, Ljubicic posted a 2-3 mark before this tournament, failing to win more than one match in a tournament. The three-match winning streak in Portschach is his best run on clay and best performance since reaching the final in his home event in Zagreb.

Tennis Prediction: Both Monaco and Ljubicic seemed to have struggled this season but for different reasons. Monaco appears to be in questionable form, far from the dominating force on clay that he can be; meanwhile, Ljubicic would appear to suffering from a confidence crisis, failing to post a decent run in a tournament.

Betting Verdict This matchup could go either way. It is Monaco’s match to lose as the favourite and the defending champion. And based on his season thus far and of late in particular, Monaco has not lived up to expectations, failing to deliver the results expected of a favourite. Ljubicic has a great opportunity to reach his second final of the season, should he take advantage of Monaco’s inconsistency.

Tennis Free Pick: Ljubicic in straight sets