in Tennis Free Picks

With Justine Henin claiming her fourth consecutive title last week in Dubai, it is the men’s tour, with Roger Federer at its vanguard, taking centre court this week. So without too much deliberation, let us break down the BetUS.com.

Top half of the draw

Prediction: The line speaks for itself. Need we say more?

Pick: Federer in straight sets.

Result: Federer wins 7-6(2) 3-6, 6-3

Prediction: Olivier Marach ranks 132 in the ATP and arrives as the underdog against World No. 88 Daniele Bracciali. While Bracciali is favored on this line, the realistic odds for either player advancing appear to be even with neither player holding a deciding advantage over the other. Bracciali has a win/loss record of 2/6 while Marach has not yet played in 2007.

Pick: Marach in straight sets.

Prediction: Although World No. 49 Kristof Vliegen leads 1-0 in their head-to-heads, owing to a victory on clay in 2005, the seventh seed at the tournament and World No. 14, Novak Djokovic, should advance into the second round easily.

Pick: Djokovic in straight sets.

Prediction: Having never played against each other, the matchup between No. 34 Rochus and No. 48 Lee could go either way. If rank is any indication, then the favorite Rochus is the sure bet for the win.

Pick: Rochus in straight sets.

Result: Olivier Rochus defeated Hyung-Taik Lee in two sets 7-6(4) 6-2

Prediction: While Florent Serra is favored, he has not been playing great, and his 2007 campaign has been less than spectacular. The underdog and World No. 39 Jonas Bjorkman offers better value for the tennis bettor.

Pick: Bjorkman in three sets.

Result: Serra defeated Bjorkman in three sets 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Prediction: Third seed at the tournament and World No. 4, Nikolay Davydenko, meets qualifier and World No. 195 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco. Without hesitation, Davydenko is the sure pick in this matchup.

Pick: Davydenko in straight sets.

Prediction: While Ranier Schuettler is slightly more favored on this line, owing to his higher ATP rank of 98, World No. 102 Andreas Seppi leads 2-1 in head-to-heads.

Pick: Seppi in three sets.

Prediction: Flushed from his recent victory at the RMK Championships & The Cellular South Cup, World No. 9 and fifth seed at the tournament, Haas, should make easy work of Radek Stepanek in the first round. As long as jet lag is not an issue, as he is arriving from Memphis.

Pick: Haas in straight sets.

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