Chardy, Ram and Cuevas in first round action at Indian Wells

Indian Wells, California – Jeremy Chardy, Rajeev Ram and Pablo Cuevas feature in early Thursday action at the Indian Wells Masters when the tournament officially gets underway on the men’s side. BetUS is offering some interesting odds on their matchups so let us look at how they might be trading.

Tennis Betting Line: Potito Starace +185 Jeremy Chardy -250
First Set Line: Potito Starace +145 Jeremy Chardy -190

Match Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday March 11, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Jeremy Chardy should be doing better than he is right now. He is an underwhelming 3-6 on the season and if he doesn’t pick up pace soon he will start to slip in the rankings. Not sure, what is ailing the Frenchman but he hasn’t impressed thus far.

The bookies don’t seem all to fussed with his sub-par performance though listing him as the favourite over Potito Starace. A 1-0 edge over Starace might have something to do with it as well as the fact that Starace has had his fair share of woes to date; he is only 4-7 on the season.

Now, I do agree with Chardy as the favourite but I am not tickled by his -250 price tag – think it is a tad steep considering he has flopped so far. Nevertheless, he has no excuse not to win this match. Put against Starace he is a much better overall player.

Tennis Free Picks: Chardy in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Pablo Cuevas -180 Frederico Gil +140
First Set Line: Pablo Cuevas -170 Frederico Gil +130

Match Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday March 11, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Pablo Cuevas comes into this match as the favourite, carrying a price tag of -180 to win outright and a -170 price to take the first set. Cuevas is 6-6 on the season with a ranking of No. 47, two spots down from a career high ranking of No.45. Cuevas is after a quarterfinal appearance in Acapulco, where he lost to eventual champion David Ferrer. Granted he is better on clay than on hard courts but his recent encouraging performance should set him up rather well, and with confidence, for his first round clash against Frederico Gil, incidentally, another clay courter. Gil is 3-6 on the season and the underdog at +140.

Tennis Free Picks: Cuevas in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Rajeev Ram -150 Daniel Koellerer +110
First Set Line: Rajeev Ram -140 Daniel Koellerer Ev

Match Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday March 11, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Rajeev Ram is better known for his doubles play rather than singles play but he has been more active of late on the singles Tour, most notably winning a title even last year. Ram enters this match as the favourite, listed at -150. He has been slow to get going though; he is only 2-6 ahead of his first round encounter against Daniel Koellerer of Austria.

Ram will be the home favourite though, something, that should come in handy against Daniel Koellerer . Then again, Koellerer is a rather unpopular with crowds all around the world, being a bit of a temperamental personality on court. He knows how to turn crowds against him and root for his opponents. This could be a tough match for Ram to win but win he should.

Tennis Free Picks: Ram in three sets