OTW Extra Email Archive - January 2018
Start the year with these 20/1 shots…
Monday 1st January 2018
In your Ones to Watch email today:
Happy New Year…
The 2018 tennis season is here, with the first matches already played in Australia, New Zealand, India and China.
I was originally intending to ‘watch only’ in week one of the season, but with 2017’s injuries & fitness issues seemingly persisting for many of the big names – we could well see some big-priced players making the finals from the off this month.
The likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Petra Kvitova have already delayed their starts to the season – no doubt with the upcoming Australian Open later this month in mind.
Start the year with these 20/1 shots…
Andy Murray is also making ‘maybe’ noises at the moment, and Milos Raonic is yet to prove his match fitness either. Both those two are due to compete in the ATP Brisbane event this week, but respective odds of 5/1 (6.00) and 9/1 (10.00) can be overlooked with so many question marks right now.
The men to take advantage in the bottom half of the Brisbane draw could be Mischa Zverev and Damir Dzumhur, at 20/1+ (21.00+) each.
Zverev got off to a fine start with a 2-0 win in the 1st Round, and has the lefty serve and tricky game to trouble many a player on his day – as Andy Murray found out in Australia last year.
Dzumhur features on our new Ones to Watch in 2018 list, and has just the right attitude and fighting spirit to relish a match against a big name – or take advantage of a weakened draw. He has a 2-0 career head-to-head record v his first opponent Denis Istomin.
Katerina Siniakova also features on our list of young & upcoming players to watch in 2018, and she got off to a winning 2-0 start in her opening match of the season at the WTA Shenzhen event this week.
Siniakova won the title here last season, and while past success at a tournament doesn’t automatically make a player a must-bet on their next visit, it is worth acknowledging and keeping an eye on players that perform well on certain courts and surfaces time and time again…
That has certainly been the case for a few of our past successes, including when we latched onto Siniakova at 20/1 for the WTA Bastad title last season – after she had reached the final at the same event the year before.
Odds of 22/1 (23.00) appeal for the big-hitting Czech this week, in a draw that sees her avoid current World No.1 Simona Halep until the final.
Maria Sharapova and one of our big Ones to Watch hits from last season Jelena Ostapenko could stand in the way before then, but single-figure odds of 10/3 (4.33) and 8/1 (9.00) respectively for those two don’t grab me much in the opening week of the new season.
Ones to Watch this week:
Outright Winner – Each Way terms: 1/2 odds 1-2 places
Play continues overnight, from 1am (UK time) in Brisbane and 3am in Shenzhen.
New Year, new season – new service…
I’ll be back soon with some big news regarding our plans for the Australian Open and beyond this month – with the launch of my brand new weekly service…
As a Ones to Watch reader you’ll be the first to know when the doors open. Watch this space. This exciting new project will be launching soon. The 2018 season has lots in store…
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
