posted April 1, 2008 at 20:13 EST in Tennis Articles

Miami, Florida – In the bottom half of the draw, most everybody had World No.2 Ana Ivanovic slotted in the quarterfinal of her section of the draw, but lo-and-behold, a rather surprising quarterfinalist emerged in Dinara Safina of Russia when she dismantled a high-flying Lindsay Davenport in the R16. Davenport had entered the fourth round after orchestrating the tournaments biggest upset on the women’s side when she beat Pacific Life Open champion Ana Ivanovic in the R32 – a huge feat and by virtue of the upset pundits hastily tipped the American as the likely quarterfinalist of that section. But the American was not to repeat her glory of the previous day as Safina’s clinical baseline control of their R16 clash, saw Davenport unravel with 34 unforced errors, chipping in herself to her 6-3, 6-4 loss.

So with this all-Russian affair schedule to kick-off tomorrow in Miami, here is my free tennis pick for this Sony Ericsson Open women’s quarterfinal.

Tennis Betting Line: Vera Zvonareva -125 Dinara Safina -115

Match Time: 11:00 AM Eastern Time, Wednesday April 2, 2008

Tennis Prediction: Yes, Safina ranks in the Top 20 (weighing in at lucky No.13 in the WTA rankings), but the Russian – sister of struggling former World No.1 Marat Safin – has not had an enviable season thus far and arrived in Miami with a 6-7 record. Similar to her notoriously temperamental brother Marat, Dinara does not disappoint in on-court dramatics. Not averse to emotional outburst Safina’s frustrations during a match find happy release in self-admonishing monologues in Russian or Spanish. While on occasion such antics and tirades can be entertaining, for tennis bettors they only make Safina a risky bet. For you never know when such a tirade will help to build her up in a match, or serve to knock her down -- effectively costing her the match.

A power baseliner, Safina is loaded with talent and skill, but she has long been a liability to herself on court with her unharnessed temper. Standing in her own way to many a victory, Safina at the slightly disadvantaged odds (-115) is not a sure play. However, she can win; it all depends on which Safina arrives in tomorrow’s match – the clinically brilliant baseline that knocked Davenport off the pink fluffy clouds she had been sailing on, post-Ivanovic match, or will it be the other Safina, whose aggressive baseline play can quickly spiral out of control directly in proportion to her erratic mood swings.

Safina owns a 5-2 lifetime record over Vera Zvonareva, but Zvonareva won their most recent meeting – a R16 encounter in Doha this year with a close score of 7-5, 6-3. This is Safina’s second shot at her counterpart, and despite her on court antics, I like her odds to avenge her earlier loss to Zvonareva.

Indeed, Zvonareva on paper is the better play. She arrived in Miami with a 16-5 record, which improved to 19-5 after her R16 victory over Ai Sugiyama. At 125, she even gets the slightest of nods from the bookies for the win. But the dynamic of a match, when two compatriots face each other, shifts the balance, and many times the underdog has more to prove than the favorite, causing them to raise the level of their game. If this assertion holds true, I expect Safina to rise to the challenge.

Tennis Free Picks: Safina in three sets.

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