in Tennis Articles

Munich, Germany – The first round of the BMW Open on Monday April 30th, 2007 saw three top seeds bow out of the tournament.

Top seed Tommy Haas, favored at -300, was upset by Sebastien Grosjean( +200) in straight sets 6-4,6-4; sixth seed Radek Stepanek was upset by WC contender Alexander Waske 7-6(3) 6-3 and seventh seed Canas retired early due to stomach pains.

With Haas out of the tournament, second seed Tomas Berdych and third seed Mikhail Youznhy become the favorites for the title. However, as they both fall in the bottom half of the draw, they’ll have to overcome several obstacles, namely each other, before they can advance.

Considering Youzhny has been dealt the tougher half of the bottom draw, on paper, Berdych’s odds look better by virtue of the luck of his draw to at the very least reach the quarterfinal round.

Youzhny will face unseeded Benjamin Becker in the second round and possibly eighth seed Jurgen Mulzer in the third round, before he would have an opportunity to pit himself against Berdych in a possible quarterfinal matchup at the BMW Open.

In the top half of the draw Marcos Baghdatis, by virtue of his fourth seed status is also favored. Considering Baghdatis has been struggling this season, it would be a stretch of the imagination to expect him to rise to the occasion. It is safe to assume that he is a long shot at this point. Although, in contrast to the bottom half of the draw, the top half is the easier draw with respect to challengers; this could work in Baghdatis’s favor as he attempts to advance through the rounds.

Also in the top half of the draw is fifth seed Jarkko Nieminen, who is expected to advance to the quarterfinal round. Should Baghdatis make it to the quarterfinal round, a feat he has not accomplished since February in Marseille, Nieminen will prove to be a tough opponent.

With so much tennis action yet to be determined in Munich, here are some choice tennis picks for the second round:

Jurgen Melzer -400 Raemon Sluiter +250

Tennis Prediction: No. 30 Jurgen Melzer should have an easy day at court against No. 144 Raemon Sluiter. Sluiter has had very little court action this season, holding a 1/2 YTD win/loss record at the start of the tournament; he is a long shot against Melzer.

Tennis Free Picks: Melzer in straight sets.

Benjamin Becker +195 Mikhail Youzhny -285

Tennis Prediction: No. 44 Benjamin Becker meets No. 17 Mikhail Youzhny for the first time. With no stats to tip the scale in favor of either player, this match seems a bit of a toss up. If there is an advantage, it lies on Becker’s side, as the German will have a crowd littered with fans to spur him on. In fact, I would go so far as saying that he is a bit of a dangerous floater at the BMW Open.

Tennis Free Picks: Becker in three sets

Philipp Kohlschreiber EV 517 Jarkko Nieminen -140

Tennis Prediction: No. 21 Jarkko Nieminen, holding a 4-1 record against No. 49 Philipp Kohlschreiber, is favored in this matchup and he should emerge the victor. However, it is impossible to measure the affect that playing on home turf will have on Germany’s Kohlschreiber. He just might be moved to orchestrate the upset.

Tennis Free Picks: Despite the possibility of an upset, I will go with the favorite Nieminen in three sets.

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