Up to Tennis Betting Trends

posted February 27, 2008 at 23:14 in Tennis Betting Trends

Zagreb, Croatia – On the European leg of the ATP tour, Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic, Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic headed to their native Croatia to compete in the PBZ Zagreb Indoors tournament. At the close of the second round action today, top seed Ivan Ljubicic and unseeded Mario Ancic confirmed their spots in the top-half of the draw; meanwhile, fifth seed Marin Cilic, the only Croatian player still alive in the tournament after second seed Ivo Karlovic fell in the first round, was eked out by Simon Boleilli. With the matchups in the final eight set, here are some tennis free picks to help you bet on PBZ Zagreb at BetUS.

Tennis Betting Line: Ivan Ljubicic vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday February 28, 2008

Tennis Prediction: This marks the first-ever meeting between No.25 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia and No.125 Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia. With home court advantage, Ljubicic who appears in his second ATP level quarter-final is a good play. Ljubicic recently won the East London Challenger event in South Africa, and reached the Doha semifinal at the start of the season. Gabashvili is contesting his second quarter-final, after appearing in the quarter-final at Rotterdam last week (l. to Gilles Simon).

Tennis Free Picks: Ljubicic in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Robin Haase vs. Mario Ancic

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday February 28, 2008

Tennis Prediction: This should be a stellar matchup in the quarter-final in Zagreb, as the young-guns square off for a berth in the final four. Mario Ancic – a former Top 10 player—is trying to reclaim the glories of his 2006 season (in 2007, Ancic saw his rankings drop when he was forced to miss most of the season with illness and injuries). On home turf, Ancic is a good play over No.79 Robin Haase of the Netherlands for the win. Ancic holds a 4/1 record, which includes an impressive run in his first and only other tournament this season – a final appearance in Marseille, (l. to Andy Murray).

Tennis Free Picks: Ancic in straight sets.

Tennis Betting Line: Simone Boleilli vs. Olivier Rochus

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday February 28, 2008

Tennis Prediction: On paper, both these players stack up even. Separated by four in the rankings and both arriving in Zagreb on the heels of a losing season at 1/4 equally, this matchup is a bit of a toss-up. No.66 Simone Boleilli holds the edge with the upset over Marin Cilic in the second round, and if he can replicate his inspired performance tomorrow, he should be the winning bet.

Tennis Free Picks: Boleilli in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Janko Tipsarevic vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday February 28, 2008

Tennis Prediction: No.209 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, who is competing in his first ATP level tournament of the season, took out second seed Ivo Karlovic in the first round and topped Viktor Troicki in the second round. Stakhovsky has come racing out of the blocks since the onset of the tournament, and as an underdog, he has proven to hold value. Worth the bet in the quarter-final perhaps!

Meanwhile, Janko Tipsarevic brings a 6/2 record for the season into this match, which includes his impressive R32 appearance against Roger Federer at the 2008 Australian Open, Troicki should be the likely bet. Tipsarevic is contesting his first quarter-final of the year and as the only seeded player still alive in the bottom half of the draw he is the player slotted to emerge out of his section of the draw.

Tennis Free Picks: Tipsarevic in three sets

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Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.