ABN AMRO World Tennis: Second Round Picks

Rotterdam, Netherlands – The market developing on the second round ABN AMRO World Tennis tournament offers several standout matches and great angles for profit the online tennis betting community should spot. Here is a look at some of the action currently trading in the market.

Tennis Betting Line: Julien Benneteau -140 Michael Berrer Ev
First Set Line: Julien Benneteau -130 Michael Berrer -110

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Thursday February 10, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Frenchman Julien Benneteau ranked No.38 in the world, takes a -140-price tag to win outright and a mere -130 to win the first set. Underscoring Benneteau’s odds is a 1-0 edge and a ranking edge over his opposite, No.62 Michael Berrer. However, Berrer is enjoying a rather positive start to his season and more importantly, a great last two weeks, which include a Challenger title victory and a runner-up finish in Zagreb (l. to Cilic). Berrer takes an 8-3 mark into the second round. He is not without a shot in this match and if you ask me, he is a better bet on the Even odds to win outright than Benneteau at -140 to win. Significantly, Berrer is only marginally shorter than Benneteau to take the first set, listed at -110.

Tennis Free Picks: Berrer in three sets at Evens

Tennis Betting Line: Marsel Ilhan +275 Mikhail Youzhny -450
First Set Line: Marsel Ilhan +225 Mikhail Youzhny -350

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Thursday February 10, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan is quite the story in the ATP circuit. He was the first Turkish player to make the main draw at the US Open and he recently entered the Aussie Open main draw, albeit on a lucky loser pass. Ilhan is 1-1 after reaching the second round in Melbourne. Next up for the No.138 ranked Ilhan is Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The Russian is favoured strongly at -450 to win outright and similarly so to take the first set, at -350. Ilhan is not going to be a cakewalk though and I think he can make world No. 20 Youzhny earn the win, if not upset (ok a bit of a stretch) the Russian who at times can be streaky. Ilhan to take the first set at least is well worth the risk at +225.

Tennis Free Picks: Ilhan in three sets at +275

Tennis Betting Line: Jurgen Melzer -210 Andreas Seppi +160
First Set Line: Jurgen Melzer -180 Andreas Seppi +140

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Thursday February 10, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: World No. 32 Jurgen Melzer and No. 46 Andreas Seppi have met twice before in their careers, with the lower ranked Italian Seppi coming to the good twice. Seppi owns Melzer 2-0 having beaten the Austrian in Monte Carlo (2009) and Bucharest (2007). Significantly, the wins were on clay, a surface that decidedly favours Seppi. Faster indoor hard courts are more up Melzer’s alley and there you have the reasoning behind the market on this match. Melzer is the player expected to win and comes in at -210. Seppi is listed at vexing puppy odds of +160.

In my opinion, Seppi, with the confidence of the two prior victories is still the player to beat in this match. As such, he is the better play to win at +160. Tennis bettors looking to buck the trend should consider Seppi to advance as well as Seppi to take the first set at +140. OR stick with the market. Your choice.

Tennis Free Picks: Seppi in three sets