ATP St. Petersburg Quarters: Kunitsyn and Stakhovsky bid for a spot in the semis

St. Petersburg, Russia – Russian Igor Kunitsyn and Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky are a victory away from booking a spot in the St. Petersburg Open quarters. Standing in their way is second seed Victor Hanescu and unseeded Bjorn Phau, respectively.

Tennis Betting Line: Igor Kunitsyn vs. Victor Hanescu

Match Time: 04:00 am Eastern Time Friday October 30, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: Russian Igor Kunitsyn will be playing for a Russian crowd, whose support will be firmly behind him in Friday’s quarterfinal over second seed Victor Hanescu. Kunitsyn is at a disadvantage on paper – he ranks outside of the top 100 and he has had an underwhelming 13-29 season. Good news for Kunitsyn is that world No. 37 Hanescu has been almost as dreadful on form this season as he has been. Hanescu is 25-30 on the season and ahead of St. Petersburg, he had been enjoying a five-match losing streak. He snapped the negative run this week with victories over Teimuraz Gabashvili and Illya Marchenko – but neither player was at their best, so the victories should be taken in reservation.

This match is a bit of a tossup. Hanescu has been more consistent than Kunitsyn this season but his victories almost exclusively come on slower surfaces. Kunitsyn has the surface edge as well as the home edge, making him the better play.

Tennis Free Picks: Kunitsyn in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Bjorn Phau vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

Match Time: 04:00 am Eastern Time Friday October 30, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: Veteran Bjorn Phau, 30, weighs in at No.110 in the world. He arrived in St. Petersburg with a 10-16 mark on the season.  His highlights this season: quarter finish in Chennai, semi-final finish in Houston and a R16 in New Haven.

Sergiy Stakhovsky currently ranks No. 93 in the world. He had a memorable tournament last year in Zagreb when as a lucky loser he raced to the title. Since then Stakhovsky has struggled to recreate the same heroics. He is 11-14 on the season – his highlights: quarterfinal finish in Doha, Zagreb and Moscow.

Stakhovsky has reached back-to-back quarters this week in St. Petersburg after bowing out to eventual champion Mikhail Youzhny in Moscow last week. Given his current positive trend, he would seem to have a slight edge over Phau.

Tennis Free Picks: Stakhovsky in three sets