ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament: First Round Picks

Rotterdam, Netherlands  –Topping the online tennis betting chart this week is the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, featuring some of the hottest players this season in Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko. Also in action is SA Tennis Open champion Feliciano Lopez, Marcos Baghdatis and James Blake amongst several others.

Here is a look at some of the action scheduled for day 2 of the tournament, complete with BetUS tennis betting lines and odds.

Tennis Betting Line: Ivan Ljubicic -160        Julien Benneteau     +120

Match Time: Not Before 05:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 9, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Ivan Ljubicic takes a 4-1 lifetime edge over Julien Benneteau into their first round clash. Ljubicic as a result is a good favourite for tennis bettors to back, listed at -160 to win outright. The 30-year-old veteran boasts a top World No. 24 ranking and a positive mark on the season at 3-2 ahead of his opening round clash. Conversely, Benneteau is a mere +120 underdog. The World No. 38 Benneteau is 4-2 on the season, which includes a semi-final appearance at Sydney.

Whichever way you slice this match, there is value. For my money, I would bet on Benneteau, only because Ljubicic suffered a disheartening second round loss in Zagreb last week to world No. 71 Lukas Lacko. His confidence could be shaken up so.

Tennis Free Picks: Benneteau in three sets at +120

Tennis Betting Line: Thiemo De Bakker     +105        Evgeny Korolev     -145

Match Time: Not Before 05:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 9, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Thiemo De Bakker has home edge and he will be looking to bank on the advantage when he takes on Evgeny Korolev in the first round. The Dutchman consequently is only marginally disadvantaged at +105. Korolev, owns a modest ranking edge over De Bakker and is recently after beating Tomas Berdych at the Australian Open second round, an impressive feat. Understandably, Korolev is listed as the favourite at -145. In some ways this match is a tossup but if you ask me the balance tips in favour of Korolev.

Tennis Free Picks: Korolev in straight sets at -145

Tennis Betting Line: Marco Chiudinelli  -110         Michael Llodra     -130 

Match Time: Not Before 05:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 9, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: World No. 54 Marco Chiudinelli and No.70 Michael Llodra are in the negative this season, ahead of the ABN AMRO. Both are looking to turn around their season with a good run in Rotterdam but there can only be one winner in this match. The bookies are undecided, tipping both players in the favourite plane and only marginally apart. Llodra is the slightly pricier option, therefore just edging ahead in favouritism at -130. Chiudinelli is the less costly option at -110. You can’t go wrong here, as both are good options. The tipping point is in favour of Llodra, who owns a victory over Chiudinelli in the 2009 qualification round at the Rogers Cup but they have never played at an ATP World Tour main draw event.

Tennis Free Picks:  Llodra in three sets at -130