posted February 12, 2007 at 19:59 EST in Tennis Free Picks

Marseille, France, February 12-18, 2007, $600,000/ 32 Draw, Indoor Hard

Over in Europe the third ATP tournament, Open 13 is in full swing, offering tennis betting enthusiasts the opportunity to bet on some of their favorite players on the ATP tour. Top seeded Nikolay Davydenko is followed by No. 2 Ivan Ljubicic, No. 3 Mario Ancic, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 David Ferrer, No. 6 Richard Gasquet, No. 7 Marcos Baghdatis and No. 8 Lleyton Hewitt.

Following the first few hours of action, wild card Julien Benneteau upset fellow countryman Florent Serra 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 while Mikhail Youzhny defeated No.4 seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0).

 

With the exciting results, and the first-seeded casualty, let us look at how the rest of the head-to-head matchups will fare.

Lleyton Hewitt -325 Michael Llodra +210

Prediction: No. 18 Lleyton Hewitt is favored on the line against No. 72 Michael Llodra and leads 3-0 in their head-to-head record. Hewitt is not in the best form, following injuries late in 2006. He is struggling of late, with a relatively disappointing Australian Open run, and a not so good Davis Cup effort. However, at this early stage of the Open, Lleyton Hewitt should live up to expectations and advance.

Pick: Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets.

Marcos Baghdatis -650 Janko Tipsarevic +375

Prediction: No. 17 Marcos Baghdatis, should face no contest from No. 75 Janko Tipsarevic. Holding a 1-0 head-to-head record and a 10/3 win/loss record for the year to date, Marcos Baghdatis should send Janko packing.

Pick: Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets

Fernando Verdasco +125 Fabrice Santoro -165

 

Prediction: No. 33 Fernando Verdasco faces a lesser ranked No. 59 Fabrice Santoro as the underdog. While Verdasco is a relatively inconsistent player, his price tag of +125 holds good value as he leads 1-0 in the head-to-head record against Santoro, owing to a victory at the US Open in 2006. For tennis betting enthusiasts looking to cash in on an underdog, Verdasco is worth the risk.

Pick: Verdasco in three sets.

Jan Hernych +600 Richard Gasquet -1200

Prediction: No. 16 and No. 6 seed Richard Gasquet should, to the crowd’s delight, advance past Jan Hernych.

Pick: Gasquet in straight sets.

Daniele Bracciali +105 Jonas Bjorkman -145

Prediction: No. 47 Jonas Bjorkman leads 1-0 in the head-to-head record over Daniele Bracciali, owing to a victory in the Round of 32 at Wimbledon 2006. Bjorkman should cash in on his favorite status and defeat Bracciali.

Pick: Bjorkman in straight sets.

Nikolay Davydenko -210 Robin Soderling +160

Prediction: No. 1 seed Nikolay Davydenko should, true to his form and in his silent fashion, quietly send Robin Soderling packing.

Pick: Davydenko in straight sets.