Tennis Betting Advice - August 2018
Go big in Cincinnati – play starts 4pm…
Monday 13th August 2018
In your Ones to Watch email today:
I’m back from my travels and ready to pick up the path to the US Open.
We were close again with our last Ones to Watch picks, with 40/1 Nicolas Jarry and 33/1 Danielle Collins both just missing out in the semi finals. Both matches went the distance to a deciding set.
We go again with the big prices in the Cincinnati Masters this week. Play starts at 4pm UK time so I’ll be brief today, with more coverage to come throughout the week.
When I got back online after returning from holiday, the first thing I did (after filling out a flight delay compensation form, that is) was to jump straight on Oddschecker for the Outright Winner prices for this week’s big event.
With the draws at hand, here are my picks for this week…
80/1 for the reigning champ…
Event: ATP Cincinnati, USA
Surface: Hard
Grigor Dimitrov is the reigning champion here, a 33/1 winner when beating Nick Kyrgios in the Cincinnati final 12 months ago. So far this year the Bulgarian hasn’t had a great season but he’s still a strong No.5 in the world, and we can back him at more than twice last year’s price today…
That’s an especially appealing price considering World No.1 Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the tournament. Rafa was in the top half of the draw, along with Dimitrov.
A return to form for Grigor is not out of the question by any means here. And he clearly likes these courts – having won Cincinnati last year, and reached the semi finals the year before. At 80/1, 66/1 and 50/1 he’s a nice price.
I’m staying away from the returning Roger Federer in the bottom half. He’s won this tournament five times in the last nine attempts and is the 11/4 (3.75) favourite to lift the trophy again. This is his first appearance since Wimbledon but a break and change of surface didn’t stop Nadal winning Toronto last week. Roger’s price is nothing to get excited about though.
Sticking with the top half and the in-form John Isner is the other man that catches the eye at 50/1. Isner is well over 30 years of age now but having the best results of his career in the big tournaments. He made the Wimbledon semi finals last month, and in March big John won the prestigious Miami Masters.
Isner is at his best in North America on the hard courts and should be ready for another title attempt this week, having gone out in the 2nd Round and 1st Round in his last two events after a gruelling run winning ATP Atlanta and before that an epic Wimbledon encounter.
In the last five years Isner has made the semi finals (2017) and final (2013) here in Cincinnati.
ATP Cicinnati – Western & Southern Open
Outright Winner:
BET: Grigor Dimitrov @ 80/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 80/1 (81.00) NetBet, 10Bet, 66/1 (67.00) Bet365, 50/1 (51.00) Ladbrokes, Coral, Skybet
BET: John Isner @ 50/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 50/1 (51.00) Bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral, 40/1 (41.00) Skybet, NetBet, 10Bet
50/1 shot in the Women’s…
Event: WTA Cincinnati, USA
Surface: Hard
In the Women’s event last year’s finalists Simona Halep (6/1) and Garbine Muguruza (12/1) are in the top half of the draw. In the bottom half I like two players, one in each quarter…
Elise Mertens is up to a career high of No.14 in the world, and hard courts are her best surface – accounting for 135 of her 255 match wins. In her last two tournaments Mertens has made a quarter final and a semi final. She hits the ball clean and hard and I like her on-court demeanour. Granted, she gets nervous sometimes against the big names and needs to improve in the big matches, but the Belgian is only 22 years old and is still improving. Odds of 50/1 make her a noteworthy outsider.
Last but not least, I’ve said a few times this summer that Daria Kasatkina is going to come up with another big tournament run soon…
The 21-year-old Russian is a rising star, currently No.12 in the world rankings, and was an 80/1 Each Way runner-up for us when making the Indian Wells final earlier this season.
World No.7 Elina Svitolina is the big name in this quarter and a general 8/1 for the title, but Svitolina’s best result in Cincinnati has been one semi final (2015) from four attempts. Her price doesn’t appeal here.
Kasatkina is another improving young player and odds of 33/1 make her One to Watch once again.
WTA Cincinnati – Western & Southern Open
Outright Winner:
BET: Elise Mertens @ 50/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 50/1 (51.00) Skybet, Ladbrokes, Coral
BET: Daria Kasatkina @ 33/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 33/1 (34.00) Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill
I’ll be back during the week with more from Cincinnati.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson