posted July 9, 2008 at 14:44 in Tennis Props

Budapest, Hungary – At the close of tennis betting action in the first round of the WTA Gaz De France, the tournament lost three seeds. With echoes of the disappointment on the women’s front during Wimbledon betting, once again, placing tennis wagers on the lower-ranked players looks promising for the online tennis betting community at BetUS Sportsbook. So with underdogs enjoying their day now – or so it seems – here is a look at the upcoming second round tennis wagering action available at BetUS, complete with tennis betting lines, predictions and free picks.

Tennis Betting Line: Klara Zakopalova -200 Mathilde Johansson +150

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday July 10, 2008

Tennis Prediction: Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic spends most of the season contesting clay-court tournaments. You could say she is a bit of a specialist on the red dirt. Ranked No.65 in the world, the 26-year-old Czech brings a 20-17 mark in to the second round, which includes a runner-up finish in Vina del Mar, a semi-final run in Estoril and Prague. Mathilde Johansson of France also enjoys encouraging results on the red stuff. Her best performances this season came in Cali, Latina, Civitavecchia and Zagreb – but all these tournaments are on the lower circuit. Although surface advantage is cancelled out in this matchup, Zakopalova is rightly favoured as most of her best results came on the main circuit. The seventh seed Zakopalova should persevere. However, with seeded players floundering, a bet on Johansson wouldn’t be an unseemly one.

Tennis Free Picks: Zakopalova in three sets

Tennis Betting Line: Martina Muller +225 Petra Kvitova -350

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday July 10, 2008

Tennis Prediction: Martina Muller finished runner-up last year at the Internazionali di Femminili di Palermo, losing to Agnes Szavay in the final. This year the 25-year-old Muller decided to head to the Gaz De France Grand Prix in Budapest. Ranked No. 130 in the world, Muller brings an 11-19 mark for the season. On the main circuit, Muller’s best results on clay were two back-to-back quarterfinal runs at Vina del Mar and Bogota. Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic weighs in at No. 70 in the world. She enters the second round with a 21-12 mark for the season, which includes her first round victory over eighth seed Sorana Cirstea. Kvitova enjoyed a promising run at the French Open this year, upsetting twelfth seed Agnes Szavay en route to a R16 appearance. Kvitova is the better play in this matchup.

Tennis Free Picks: Kvitova in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Zuzana Kucova +190 Greta Arn -275

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday July 10, 2008

Tennis Prediction: Hungarian Greta Arn will be the crowd favourite as well as opening on the tennis betting line as the odds maker’s favourite in this match. In the opening round, Arn topped fourth seed Iveta Benesova – a player who is a bit of an aficionado on clay. Bolstered by contributing to the tournaments line-up of seeds exiting early, Arn is in a favourable position to go one better. Her next challenge comes from Slovakia’s Zuzana Kucova – a player who ranks No. 281 in the world and possesses under par performances on both the main and lower circuits.

Tennis Free Picks: Arn in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Tsvetana Pironkova -600 Katalin Marosi +350

Match Time: 06:00 AM Eastern Time, Thursday July 10, 2008

Tennis Prediction: Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova enters as the steep favourite on the money line. Her most commendable results came in Rome wherein she upset Ana Ivanovic in the R32 and pushed all the way to the quarterfinal round. She followed up with a semi-final run in Istanbul. A promising talent Pironkova is rightly favoured in this match. However, she comes up against Katalina Marosi of Hungary in the second round. No. 799 Marosi has home court edge. She also owns an 8-1 record for the season, having contested just two events on clay in the lower circuit the entire season. She won the first event (Bell Ville) and reached the semi-final in Budapest. Pironkova may face a stiffer challenge from Marosi than her ranking would suggest.

Tennis Free Picks: Marosi in three sets

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