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Saturday 31st October

More free tennis bet winners on QF's day as Michael Llodra W11/10 in Lyon and the Kunitsyn/Hanescu W6/5 in St. Petersburg - adding to W9/10, W8/11, W5/4 & W9/4, W4/5 & W8/13 earlier this week, making it another very profitable time for our tennis tips.

And don't forget, next week we're off to Valencia and Basel for the tour's penultimate week of tournament action:

CLICK HERE to sign up for next week's outright tournament bets

SF's today in all three events. We'll start in Lyon where this week the home players have held sway. Michael Llodra has won twice for us already and has a decent chance of making it a hat-trick against another Frenchman, Gilles Simon. Llodra leads their series 3:0 (all hard, latest Marseille 7-6 6-2) and can cause the No.2 seed problems when they meet later today. The bookies say that Simon (4/11) will win, maybe so, but Michael Llodra (12/5) must be worth a small interest at a big price given that impressive head-to-head form.

The other SF sees Ivan Ljubicic face Arnaud Clement. Clement saved a match point in beating the No.1 seed, Tsonga, last night but may not be quite so fortunate against the Croat this afternoon (Ljubicic leads 7:2).

In Vienna we see another home player, Austrian Jurgen Melzer, doing well. He faces Janko Tipsarevic for a place in the final and despite the Serb's great recent form and 1:0 lead over his opponent, the gut feeling is that Melzer (10/11) can sneak the win after a great effort against the No.2 seed, Radek Stepanek, yesterday.

The other SF sees Cilic face Kohlschreiber. A tough match to call with the German leading 3:1 - but all three wins have been close - and the Croat trying to make a late bid for the ATP World Tour finals in London.

Finally, in St. Petersburg, will it be a fairytale ending to his career for Marat Safin? The Russian is in the SF's where he faces Sergiy Stakhovsky (Safin leads 1:0) and is priced up as the favourite. The other tie sees the unheralded Argentine, Horacio Zeballos, take on another home player, Igor Kunitsyn. Both tricky matches to call, and neither really merit serious interest, with the best play being a three set match (11/8) for the Kunitsyn/Zeballos tie.

We'll be back tomorrow with a preview of the three finals and don't forget to sign up for next week's outright tennis bets here.

Friday 30th October

Success yesterday for Michael Llodra W9/10 and Marat Safin W8/11 (when Igor Andreev retired early in the second set). Following on from Beck W5/4 & W9/4, Zeballos W4/5 and Gicquel W8/13 earlier this week its been another productive period for our free tennis tips.

Friday, of course, is QF's day and this week's three events are all down to the last eight. And don't forget, next week we're off to Valencia and Basel for the tour's penultimate week of tournament action:

CLICK HERE to sign up for next week's outright tournament bets

As for today, starting in Lyon, we've got Frenchman occupying 7 of the 8 remaining places (we've mentioned this before, players doing well on home soil, especially in France). Three all-French affairs see Tsonga/Clement, Simon/Benneteau and Llodra/Gicquel with Ljubicic/Serra making up the day's order of play.

No match, it must be said, offers a clear-cut betting opportunity - Tsonga, Simon and Ljubicic are all way too short to back and the Llodra/Gicquel match is a real 50:50 call - which just makes Llodra (11/10) the best option on what is a very tricky day in France.

All four favourites in Vienna are 4/7 or shorter. Cilic, Kohlschreiber, Monfils and Stepanek - at least on paper - looking hard to oppose. One statistical note is that in the Kohlschreiber/Almagro match of their 11 previous sets, spread over four matches (2:2) no fewer than 5 have been settled with a tie-break. In the first set correct score Kohlschreiber 7-6 (11/2) and Almagro 7-6 (13/2) might be worth a small interest.

Finally, in St. Petersburg, four more seemingly one-sided affairs again make decent betting opportunities hard to find. Each of Safin, Gulbis and Stakhovsky should win through and with the Kunitsyn/Hanescu match possibly being the closest a three set match (6/5) is a token suggestion for another event which offers little real betting value today.

We'll be back tomorrow with the SF matches and don't forget to sign up for next week's outright tennis bets here.

Thursday 29th October

By the end of the day the QF line-ups will be completed for this week's three tournaments.

In Lyon there are five places still up for grabs with, amongst others, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No.1) and Gilles Simon (No.2) playing today. However, the match of most interest is Juan Monaco against Michael Llodra.

It's worth noting that in a poor year, Llodra's best performance came indoors when RU in Marseille - a surface he's much more suited to than the Argentine, Monaco. And whilst the South American won well against another Frenchman, Josselin Ouanna, back on Monday in R1 (6-3 6-2) Michael Llodra (9/10) represents a step up in class - quite possibly a step too far. Incidentally, the pair have met before (Auckland 2008) and even though Monaco won, 7-6 in the third, Llodra won more points in the match!

Not much to get excited about in St. Petersburg today with the best match being a tough one to call, Safin v Andreev. Two of the more erratic and unpredictable players on tour this match could easily go either way (1:1 on past meetings). Sentiment says that so near his retirement, and playing at home for probably the last time, Marat Safin (8/11) will pull out the stops to win ... but it's no match for serious investment.

Finally, in Vienna, the year-to-date figures for Marin Cilic and Daniel Brands suggest that the big German can keep his more illustrious opponent within reach early in their match. Top seed Cilic is a big favourite to win - and should safely make it through to the last eight - but the data suggests a first set correct score of Cilic 6-3 (10/3) or 6-4 (10/3) as the best call.

That's all for today. We'll be back tomorrow with the pick of the QF matches from all three of this week's tournaments.

Wednesday 28th October

More success on Tuesday as Horacio Zeballos W4/5 in St. Petersburg and Marc Gicquel W8/13 in Lyon - and the opportunity to add even more profit today with our free tennis bets.

The giant 6'9" American, John Isner (5/4) could well take advantage of any hangover which Janko Tipsarevic might be feeling after his recent Moscow final defeat. The Serb made his first ATP championship match last Sunday (but, in truth, beat very little in the process) and Isner could well prove a troublesome opponent today.

There is a view that one or two of the American players are poor travellers, and under-perform away from their native USA, but if Isner's huge serve is working then Tipsarevic will struggle to contain the improving 24-year-old.

In Lyon the options look more limited. Best play comes in the match between Paul-Henri Mathieu and Leonardo Mayer. Another example of an underdog, in this case Mayer (2/1), not being without the chance of causing a shock ... but maybe a three set match (5/4) is the play with Mathieu not entirely convincing as the favourite and the Argentine, Mayer, being a player we like here - the Buenos Aires resident is certainly one to note for the future.

Best of the action in St. Petersburg involves Safin/Gasquet as well as the Gulbis/Chardy match - both tough to call. The pick of the other opportunities looks to be Karol Beck (8/13) to defeat Bjorn Phau. Not a big price but the Slovakian did us a favour on Monday against Viktor Troicki (W5/4 & W9/4) and should have too much for his German opponent today.

That's all for today. We'll be back tomorrow with the remainder of the R2 action as the QF line-ups for each tournament are finalised.

Tuesday 27th October

A winning start to the week as Karol Beck W5/4 & W9/4 defeated the No.3 seed, Viktor Troicki, 7-6 4-6 6-4 in St. Petersburg. Plenty more to come this week, not only in Russia but also in the two other tour events being played in Lyon and Vienna.

Once again we start today in St. Petersburg with Horacio Zeballos (4/5) to defeat Yuri Schukin. The 6'2" Argentine, Zeballos, is a new name to many but the 23-year-old has achieved enough to suggest he'll have too much for his limited Russian opponent. Schukin, ranked No.218, is no world-beater and although Zeballos is most at home on clay (won Challenger event on clay in Buenos Aires last month) he has won two Challengers on hard as well in 2009.

Zeballos, ranked No.54, like most Argentines, has a natural affinity for clay which is supplemented by a decent level on faster surfaces.

In Lyon, Jerome Haehnel is surely only playing this week as the event is being held in his own country. Ranked No.675 in the world the Frenchman won in Metz in 2004 before completely falling off the radar. His recent form in Challengers is duly noted but against Marc Gicquel (8/13) today he faces a marked step up in class. They are 4:4 in past meetings but Gicquel has maintained his form since they last met in 2005 and must be the one to be on here.

Finally, in Vienna, Jurgen Melzer plays Marco Chiudinelli. The Swiss player is a dangerous opponent for the home favourite and could well push the No.7 seed close. A three set match (11/8) looks the best call with either player covered should this match go the distance.

That's all for today. Don't forget those outright bets and we'll be back tomorrow with the best of the R2 action for this week's events.

Monday 26th October

There's just no stopping the ATP Tour at this time of year as this week three cities, spread right across Europe, provide tournaments in Russia, Austria and France. Don't forget you can still sign up for this week's outright bets for St. Petersburg, Vienna and Lyon.

Plenty of match bet winners last week - W4/5, W8/11, W8/15 & W11/8, W4/6, W9/4, W10/11, W7/5 - and more free tennis bets to follow this week.

We start in Lyon. Always worth noting French players when playing in France (in fact, most players when in action on home soil). The fact that Josselin Ouanna (5/4) is still ranked at No.137 in the world, for a player aged 23, would suggest he isn't destined to set the tennis world alight. However, flashes of form (e.g. beating Safin at this year's French Open) illustrate that he does have some ability.

Ouanna is hardly a massive price to defeat Juan Monaco in R1 today but the view is that the Argentine might well find the 6'4'' Frenchman's power too much given that he struggled in similar conditions in Stockholm last week.

St. Petersburg sees the Serbian player, Viktor Troicki, as a short-priced favourite to defeat Karol Beck. The view is that Troicki is just a bit too short at 2/5, making the Slovakian underdog a little bit of value. Two ways to play this match, either go for Karol Beck (9/4) or combine a 2-1 match scoreline either way - Troicki (3/1), Beck (5/1) - to back a three set match (5/4) at combined odds.

Very little on offer in Vienna today. Close matches like Odesnik/Rosol and Koubek/Gil look very tough to split and favourites such as Almagro and Hernych are of little interest at skinny odds. All best left alone.

That's all for today. Don't forget those outright tournament bets and we'll be back tomorrow with the remainder of the R1 action for all this week's events.

Sunday 25th October

Don't forget there are three ATP tournaments next week and you can get our exclusive outright picks for each event - sign up here for next week's outright bets for St. Petersburg, Vienna and Lyon.

As for this week - Mayer W4/5, Rochus W8/11, Johansson W8/15 & W11/8, Korolev W4/6, Rochus W9/4, Baghdatis W10/11, Kukushkin W7/5 - there have been plenty of free match bet winners ... and on final's day today, the chance to add a little bit more profit to the week.

In Stockholm, Olivier Rochus has played very well to get through to the final where he faces Marcos Baghdatis. The Cypriot leads 1:0 (clay 2006) and has played well himself this week ... even though he benefited in the SF's from a walkover win as the No.1 seed Robin Soderling was forced to miss yesterday's match with a right elbow injury.

Baghdatis (2/5) is statistically the better player, very good indoors, the head-to-head leader and, frankly, the most likely winner. However, such a short price is nothing to get excited about.

Given than he's only been broken on serve three times this week - once in each match - but has broken his opponents a total of 12 times, the call in the first set correct score betting is Baghdatis 6-3 (9/2) or 6-4 (4/1).

An interesting final in Moscow it should be as Mikhail Youzhny (a proven tour winner) takes on Janko Tipsarevic (no wins). Playing on home soil as well is a big plus for Youzhny ... however he trails Tipsarevic 0:2 on past meetings. Both players have played well this week and this final could be close, as such Tipsarevic (13/8) - if he starts well - just gets the vote to register a long overdue maiden victory.

That's all for today. Don't forget those outright bets for next week and we'll be back tomorrow with the best of the R1 action from the events in Vienna, Lyon and St. Petersburg.

Saturday 24th October

More match betting success yesterday in both this week's ATP Tour events as in Moscow we saw Mikhail Kukushkin W7/5 eventually get the better of Pablo Cuevas whilst in Stockholm it was a correct score bet which won as Marcos Baghdatis W10/11 scored with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Arnaud Clement.

And don't forget you can sign up here for next week's outright betting advice for the three events in St. Petersburg, Vienna and Lyon.

Today is the day of SF matches in each event and first stop is Stockholm.

Robin Soderling takes on Baghdatis leading 3:2 in past meetings (3:1 on hard courts). As the No.1 seed and tournament favourite, Soderling (4/11) is taken to win but Baghdatis did win their last meeting back in January at the Australian Open 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3. It's a match probably best left alone for betting purposes as the Swede should win but he's much too short to back.

In the other match the Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci (5/6), is the call to beat Olivier Rochus. Bellucci did for our 25/1 outright bet on Joachim Johansson yesterday in the QF's with a very solid display (giving up just one break point in the whole match) and that kind of form should see him defeat his Belgian opponent today. Bellucci is definitely one for the future.

The shock of the QF's in Moscow on Friday was the defeat of Korolev by Illya Marchenko. Today the 22-year-old Ukrainian takes on Janko Tipsarevic who, unbelievably, is still looking for a first career ATP title. It should be the Serb who takes this and in a first set correct score bet the advice would be Tipsarevic 6-3 (7/2) or 6-4 (7/2). In the other SF, Mikhail Youzhny really should be too strong for Kukushkin - Youzhny has looked good all week.

That's all for today. Don't forget those outright tennis tips for next week and there will be more from us on final's day tomorrow.

Friday 23rd October

Both this week's tournaments, in Moscow and Stockholm, are through to the QF stages.

In the Swedish capital, No.1 seed, Robin Soderling, has looked in good form this week and has a fine chance of adding to his previous win on home soil this year (Bastad). He's as short as 1/33 to defeat Garcia-Lopez today.

Another home player, Joachim Johansson, is also playing well and is expected to see off the Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci. Johansson is 1/4 to win and, playing indoors on a hard court as opposed to his opponent's more favoured clay, the Swede should win his first QF since January 2007!

The other two ties see Olivier Rochus and Jarkko Nieminen fight out a close looking match leaving Marcos Baghdatis as the best bet of the day in Stockholm. The Cypriot has trounced both Ferrero and Kendrick so far this week and a scoreline of Baghdatis 2-0 (10/11) looks the play here against Arnaud Clement (last met Marseille 2008, Baghdatis won 6-3 6-4).

As for Moscow, Evgeny Korolev (4/11) to defeat Marchenko looks a clear cut situation - but no sort of a price. Youzhny is also very short against Stakhovsky at 1/4. Youzhny really should win this match but it does have a resemblance to Lopez/Rochus yesterday (Rochus W9/4) - meaning that Stakhovsky (7/2) can make this closer than the odds would suggest.

The other two QF's see Ginepri/Tipsarevic as a tough call - even though Ginepri leads 3:0 and is the outsider today - as well as Cuevas/Kukushkin. Here, Cuevas is the favourite but Kukushkin (7/5) holds a 1:0 lead over the Uruguayan and certainly has more experience, even aged 21, both indoors and on hard courts. A possibly tough match for the No.5 seed.

That's all for today. Don't forget you can sign up for next week's outright bets for St. Petersburg, Vienna and Lyon here.

Thursday 22nd October

This week's action in Moscow and Stockholm is well underway and the success yesterday of Joachim Johansson W8/15 & 2-0 W11/8 added to the likes of Korolev W4/6, Rochus W8/11 and Mayer W4/5 has made it a solid enough start for our free tennis bets.

The QF line-ups will be finalised in each event today and a couple of bets look worthy of an interest.

In Stockholm, Olivier Rochus (9/4) has a definite chance of upsetting the odds against Feliciano Lopez. The Spaniard has talent, unquestionably, but he is one of those players who fails to produce it on a consistent basis - one career title in 12 years, frankly, says it all. And whilst the No.8 seed should win this he is certainly no 1/3 chance today and Rochus, a fighter, holds a 2:1 lead over him anyway. The Belgian can make it a lot closer match than these prices suggest.

In Moscow, Andrey Golubev (8/13) first came to attention when making the final in St. Petersburg 12 months ago and despite losing his last six matches on tour the world No.61 should still have enough to see off another 22-year-old, Illya Marchenko.

Finally, in the Safin/Korolev tie the best option is for a three set match (5/4). This was the outcome when they last met and neither player is playing well enough to be considered a good bet to take the match 2-0.

That's all for today. Back with the best of the QF action tomorrow so make sure to log on for the latest free bets.

Wednesday 21st October

Two South American players with bright futures meet today in Stockholm with the 22-year-old Argentine, Leonardo Mayer, facing the 21-year-old Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci.

Both players have been mentioned here before and for their R2 clash preference is for Leonardo Mayer (4/6) to make it through to the QF's. His victory over the No.7 seed, Albert Montanes in R1 reads well added to a previous 6-3 6-2 win over Bellucci (admittedly on clay) and a general profile that looks better suited to a faster surface than his Brazilian opponent.

One other player to note in Sweden today is Joachim Johansson (8/15) to beat Juan Monaco. The injury woes of the former world No.9 are well-documented but he breezed through R1 comfortably and should find his Argentine rival to his liking on these terms (a fast, indoor surface) as opposed to Monaco's much prefered clay. If 8/15 looks too short, and it is no giveaway, Johansson 2-0 (11/8) is a correct score bet to consider.

In Moscow the main fancy is for Evgeny Korolev (4/6) to frank the form of two previous wins over Igor Kunitsyn. Defending champion he may be but Kunitsyn's general level of form is nothing special (ranked 107) and although Korolev has possibly not developed as well as expected when he first appeared on the scene, a 2:0 career lead and a higher standing at No.51 in the rankings make him the choice in this all-Russian encounter.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow, make sure to bookmark this page and keep regularly updated with our match betting information.

Tuesday 20th October

Andreas Vinciguerra wouldn't be playing this week if the tournament was anywhere else than his native Sweden. For sure, he made the SF of the Swedish Open in Bastad back in July but two retirements in two recent Davis Cup ties says it all about the 28-year-old's fitness and form.

His opponent today, Olivier Rochus (8/11), has also been heading in the wrong direction these past few years but some solid play on the Challenger Tour this year show that the diminuitive Belgian still has enough to win this.

A name for the future is Grigor Dimitrov. The 18-year-old Bulgarian won the junior Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2008 and although he's yet to make his mark on the main ATP (struggling to make an impression in Challengers) his current mark of No.310 will dramatically improve in the next 12 months. He may not beat Jarkko Nieminen today but the teenager already has enough to make this a three set match (5/4).

That's all Stockholm today. As for the action in Moscow the best play looks to be Igor Andreev (8/11) to see off Robby Ginepri. Like several others on tour - Verdasco, Monfils, Wawrinka - Andreev simply doesn't win enough tournaments (or matches) for a player of his ability but does have a decent record here, winning this event back in 2005.

Luckily today the Russian faces Ginepri, a player with an equally poor success rate despite a win earlier this year in Indianapolis and a 1:0 career lead over the No.4 seed. Andreev gets the vote ... just.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow, make sure to bookmark this page and keep regularly updated with our match betting information.

Monday 19th October

Plenty to look forward to in Moscow and Stockholm this week. As ever we'll have the best free tennis bets available for the matches plus the pick of the outright betting:

>> Sign-up for our exclusive outright tennis bets

Some great bets, at double-figure prices, lined up this week (as big as 33/1) so make sure you sign up today and get involved with the action.

Match betting today in Sweden sees the tall Czech Jan Hernych (13/8) take on the Argentine clay-courter, Juan Monaco. Monaco may have won their only meeting 6-2 6-1 (on clay) but this faster surface will make this match much more competitive as indoors there is little between the pair - the main concern is Hernych's inactivity since the US Open.

The surface should also be of help to Benjamin Becker (11/10) against his fellow-countryman Simon Greul. It's been a productive year on clay for Greul but his prolific form has come largely on clay whilst Becker is the player better suited to quicker court conditions. He won their only previous encounter 6-4 6-3 (hard, 2006) and today's underdog can score today.

Finally in the Swedish capital, Albert Montanes has a truly shocking record on hard courts (15:47) and indoors (3:12) which has to make Leonardo Mayer (4/5) of some appeal for their R1 encounter. However, at these odds we wouldn't suggest the Argentine to be the week's strongest bet.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow for both Moscow (where there are no match bets of note today) and Stockholm ... and don't forget our exclusive outright tennis bets as well for both these ATP tournaments.

Sunday 18th October

A busy week of tennis betting action next week as the main tour returns to mainland Europe with events in Moscow and Stockholm. As ever we'll have the best betting advice right here for you:

Clicking outright tennis bets will give you access to our weekly outright tips.

This week's free match bets in Shanghai have returned Djokovic WON 4/1, Ljubicic WON 4/5, Stepanek WON 1/1, Djokovic/Davydenko WON 6/4 and there is also Rafael Nadal in the outright betting (advised at 7/2) who has made it to today's championship decider.

In this final the No.1 seed takes on Nikolay Davydenko who edged out Djokovic 6-4 4-6 7-6 in yesterday's SF match. Nadal leads 4:2 on past meetings (3:0 on clay, 1:2 on hard) but despite being the favourite for the match, odds as big as 8/15 suggest the Mallorcan is no certainty.

This fact is down to (a) Davydenko's great recent form of late winning in Kuala Lumpur and making the QF's in Beijing and (b) Nadal's less than convincing play since his return to the main tour. The Spaniard has played with none of his usual authority in either Beijing or here in Shanghai this week - but has still made it through to the final.

Nadal could very well lift the trophy later today but a three set match (5/4) looks the best play on a match where either player is more than capable of taking a set off the other.

More free tennis tips will follow next week for Moscow and Stockholm and don't forget our exclusive outright betting advice as well for both of next week's ATP tournaments.

Saturday 17th October

Success yesterday with Novak Djokovic WON 4/1 (first set score 6-3) once again showing the value of correct score betting - and there will be more of the same next week as the ATP Tour heads back to Europe.

The two upcoming tournaments - in Moscow and Stockholm - will provide plenty more chances to make a profit next week both in terms of our free tennis match bets but also our exclusive outright picks.

>> Sign-up here for our outright tennis betting tips

As for the SF's in the Shanghai Masters the all-Spanish clash between Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez should see the No.1 seed make another Masters Series final ... but, once again this week, he's not looked to be in top form. However, the good news for his backers is that Rafa played his best match this week against another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, and with a 4:1 record over Lopez he should see off another fellow-countryman today.

Nadal is no price to back (1/8) so, returning to the correct score betting, look for a 6-3 (7/2) or 6-4 (7/2) first set score for Rafa - he's won 5 of his 9 sets against Lopez by either of these scorelines. It's the value call.

In the other SF, Nikolay Davydenko trails Novak Djokovic 1:2 on past meetings but does look a shade big at 11/5 for their encounter today. A better option might well be a three set match (6/4) as although the Serb won twice against the Russian here in China last year (both at the Masters Series Cup, including one in the final) Davydenko is playing well at present and can certainly make the No.2 seed work for his win - if not cause a surprise himself.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow for the Shanghai final but don't forget our exclusive outright bets for next week's ATP tournaments.

Friday 16th October

The QF stages of the Shanghai Masters have just three of the top eight seeds remaining as only Rafael Nadal (No.1), Novak Djokovic (No.2) and Nikolay Davydenko (No.6) have reached the business end of this Masters Series event. For all the prize-money and ranking points on offer this tournament has a distinctly 'end of season' feel about it.

However, these seemingly unattractive events tend to produce some of the best betting opportunities (as seen with Marin Cilic e/w 25/1 last week) and the two upcoming tournaments - in Moscow and Stockholm - will provide yet more valuable chances to make a profit next week.

>> Sign-up for our exclusive outright tennis bets

As for the remainder of this week's action in Shanghai, Nikolay Davydenko kicks off the QF's against Radek Stepanek (4:4 on past meetings) - the Russian has looked in good form this week.

The other three ties should all go to the favourites with Rafael Nadal 4:1 against Ljubicic, Novak Djokovic 3:1 against Simon and Robin Soderling a warm order against Feliciano Lopez (although the pair are 3:3 in their series to date).

As such, looking for bets requires a little creative thought (the trio are 1/7, 2/7 and 2/11 respectively in the win market). In the first set correct score market, Djokovic 6-3 (4/1) and 6-4 (4/1) stand out on the figures and for the Nadal match an investment on the handicap line (minus 4.5 games) 5/6 looks the best option with Rafa seeming to regain some of his form in the last round.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow as the action moves into the QF stages.

Thursday 15th October

With the early exits this week of Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Roddick, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tommy Haas through injury, plus Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic by way of defeat (and the no-shows by Federer and Murray) the Shanghai Masters is beginning to look rather threadbare ... and R3 is barely complete!

Of the remaining matches today Gilles Simon and Tomas Berdych has possibilities with Berdych (6/4) having won their last two meetings. Simon, recent winner in Thailand, has the edge on current form but Berdych is more than capable of causing a surprise. The Frenchman represents little value as the odds-on favourite as the Czech can step-up appreciably on his laboured R2 win over Marat Safin on a surface which may favour him more than Simon.

The remaining R3 matches see Nadal and Djokovic as 'good things' against Robredo and Schuettler respectively but there appear no real betting angles to either match.

More free tennis tips will follow tomorrow as the action moves into the QF stages.

Wednesday 14th October

It's been a productive start to the Shanghai Masters as the success of Radek Stepanek WON 1/1 on Monday was followed up by victory for another of our highlighted players as Ivan Ljubicic WON 4/5 on Tuesday.

The action for today offers several fancied players at generally poor prices against opponents they should all beat comfortably - in other words, not much to get our teeth stuck into.

For example, Del Potro can make amends for a poor R1 loss in Tokyo to take care of Jurgen Melzer, both Soderling and Djokovic have the beating of their 'clay-court' opponents (Almagro and Fognini) whilst Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will surely have no trouble accounting for Shau Xuan Zeng.

Should you fancy a four-timer on the quartet, however, a return of barely 1/2 for all players winning is not a bet we would recommend - the exercise of trying to buy money on short-priced favourites is as bad a practice in tennis as with any other sport. For sure, value can be found in any bet but ask yourself whether the risk is worth the reward on a 1/20 shot!

Better to play the statistics on another of today's matches as Ivan Ljubicic takes on Fernando Verdacso. The Spaniard is of no appeal at 1/6 (no better than the players listed above) so look to the first set correct score market. Here, Verdasco 7-6 (11/2) or 6-4 (7/2) would be the call as both previous meetings between these players (1:1) have been settled by these scores and the No.7 has just enough class to edge this encounter.

That's all for today but more free tennis bets online tomorrow - in the meantime don't forget to check out why a high ATP Tour ranking doesn't make you a winner.

Tuesday 13th October

A winning start in the Shanghai Masters as Radek Stepanek WON 1/1 courtesy of a comfortable 6-3 6-0 defeat of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Generally it was a day of few surprises, no seeds were beaten and only a couple of results merited much attention - Fabio Fognini beating the erratic Ernests Gulbis, Florian Mayer seeing off fellow German, Philipp Petzschner, and James Blake's three set win over Ivo Karlovic.

The pick of the players in R1 action today include Andy Roddick (looking to come back from a disappointing R1 defeat in Beijing last week), Marin Cilic and Gael Monfils.

Match betting opportunities appear thin on the ground for Tuesday but one game to note is the all-French Monfils/Mathieu clash. Mathieu leads 2:0 on past meetings with both games going to three sets (latest Marseille 2009).

Monfils has played well of late but his recent exertions may be starting to take their toll. Mathieu (2/1) can certainly win again but the safer option for today's encounter looks to be a three set match (6/4).

That's all for today but more free tennis bets online tomorrow - in the meantime don't forget to check out why some of the top seeds shouldn't be backed in big matches.

Monday 12th October

It will be interesting to see how several players perform this week in the Shanghai Masters. So near the end of the season, the majority of the top players are all but finished for the year seeing as though the four Grand Slams are done and dusted (and even the Masters Cup in London takes a backseat in this respect) ... all eyes are already moving ahead to 2010.

Federer misses out this week, as does Murray, questions remain about Nadal's match-fitness and Del Potro's motivation. No coincidence that the most recent eye-catchers on tour - Monfils, Tsonga, Davydenko, Soderling, Simon, Cilic and Djokovic - are all guys with something either to prove or something to play for (ranking points, prize-money etc).

Don't forget, you can sign up right now for exclusive outright bets for this Masters Series by clicking outright bets for Shanghai.

In today's action, Radek Stepanek (1/1) is taken to use an early defeat in Tokyo to his advantage over Juan Carlos Ferrero. Given extra time to prepare for this week's event the under-rated Czech can squeeze past the Spaniard (2:2 past meetings, not met since 2006).

Ivan Ljubicic (4/5) can also defeat Julien Benneteau. The Frenchman is the higher ranked player (rated 33 to Ljubicic's 37) but has never won an ATP event and, aged 27, falls very much into the 'journeyman' category. As for Ljubicic, the Croat certainly is on the slide these days (he was world No.3 back in 2006) but should still have enough left in the tank to win this after some solid efforts on tour in recent weeks.

Plenty more to come on through this week, more free tennis match bets and don't forget the outright picks as well.

Sunday 11th October

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga landed his third ATP title of the year in Tokyo by seeing off Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3 in Sunday's final. After wins in Johannesburg and Marseille this win puts the French player one step closer to qualifying for the end of season Masters Cup in London.

A pre-tournament 15/2 chance, Tsonga defeated the 33/1 Youzhny in little more than an hour thus confirming his record as a good 'finisher' in tournaments - Tsonga is now 5:1 in championship matches and very much a player to rely upon in ATP finals. Our latest news feature uncovered the facts about this pattern amongst tour players (click here to read more).

The week's other final has been interrupted by rain with Marin Cilic and Novak Djokovic battling it out for the China Open. Cilic (our pre-tournament 25/1 outright advice) made it to the final of the China Open with a 6-1 6-3 victory over the top seed Rafael Nadal and despite trailing his Serbian opponent 0:3 on past meetings has a real chance of winning today.

Don't forget, you can sign up right now for exclusive outright bets for next week's Master Series event, the Shanghai Masters.

Click Shanghai Masters Bets to get outright advice for Shanghai.

Added to the success of Cilic our free tennis bets this past week have provided a stream of winners - Gulbis W4/6, Nadal/Soderling W4/6 and Monfils W4/6 providing the profits in the early stages, followed by Hewitt/Santoro W2/1, Mathieu/Ljubicic W11/8 and Marin Cilic W15/8 as the tournament's progressed.

We'll start our work for next week's Masters Series event today ... so remember that you must sign-up for Shanghai now for all the best bets.

Saturday 10th October

Marin Cilic (our pre-tournament 25/1 outright advice) made it to the final of the China Open with a 6-1 6-3 SF victory over the top seed Rafael Nadal and will next meet the No.2 seed, Novak Djokovic, in the title decider.

Don't forget, you can sign up right now for exclusive outright bets for next week's Master Series event, the Shanghai Masters.

Click Shanghai Masters Outright Betting to get outright advice for Shanghai.

Added to the success of Cilic our free tennis bets have provided a stream of winners this week - Ernests Gulbis W4/6, Nadal/Soderling W4/6 and Gael Monfils W4/6 providing the profits in the early stages, followed by Hewitt/Santoro W2/1, Mathieu/Ljubicic W11/8 and Marin Cilic W15/8 as the tournament's progressed.

The final of the Japan Open in Tokyo will see the Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, take on the French player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

As (bad) luck would have it ... Youzhny defeated one of our 16/1 outright picks, Lleyton Hewitt, in his SF match and then, to make matters worse, Tsonga beat our other 16/1 outright pick, Gael Monfils, in his match!

Both this week's finals will be covered on Sunday's update and then we'll start our work for next week's Masters Series event ... so remember that you must sign-up for Shanghai now.

Friday 9th October

The list of winners for the week was added to yesterday by the success of Ernests Gulbis W4/6 in Tokyo and Nadal/Soderling W4/6 in Beijing.

Following Lleyton Hewitt W2/1 and Mathieu/Ljubicic W11/8 its been another good week for our match bets ... and we've also got outright bets (as big as 25/1) still in the thick of the action in both tournaments. Don't forget, you can sign up now for exclusive outright bets for next week's Master Series event, the Shanghai Masters.

Click Shanghai Masters Bets to get outright advice for Shanghai.

In the Japan Open today, Stanislas Wawrinka brings a 1:0 career lead into his QF with Gael Monfils. The French player won in Metz a fortnight ago and despite running out of steam against Davydenko in Kuala Lumpur last week looks in good enough form to see off his Swiss opponent. Monfils (4/6) can make it to the SF's at the expense of the No.7 seed.

Rafael Nadal hasn't looked overly impressive in his two matches in the China Open, rather labouring to wins over Baghdatis and Blake, but could well up the tempo today against Marat Safin. The Russian has enjoyed a good run here, with a notable win over Fernando Gonzalez in R2, but Nadal can add to his win in their only previous meeting (7-6 6-0, Montreal 2007).

Safin could make it competitive in the first set (Nadal has looked shaky on serve this week and Safin is yet to be broken in two matches) making a scoreline of Nadal 6-4 (7/2) or Nadal 7-6 (7/1) a sporting bet in their QF match.

More free bets will be online tomorrow with the SF line-up finalised for each event and remember to sign-up for Shanghai.

Thursday 8th October

Lleyton Hewitt's 3-6 6-3 6-1 win over Fabrice Santoro in the Japan Open saw the Aussie move into the Tokyo QF's - and land a nice winner in the process as a three set match WON 2/1.

In the remainder of today's R2 matches Ernests Gulbis (4/6) can get the better of Juan Monaco. The Argentine, Monaco, breezed through R1 when his opponent Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired early through illness but the 21-year-old Latvian should present a much sterner test. Gulbis recorded a fine 6-4 6-4 win over the No.6 seed Radek Stepanek in R1 and despite a generally disappointing profile - a current ranking of 98 being no true reflection of his abundant talents - Gulbis is taken to reverse a previous loss to Monaco, on clay, now facing the Argentine on this faster surface.

When it comes to fulfilling one's potential, Marin Cilic is certainly beginning to do exactly that in 2009. Titles in Chennai and Zagreb represent a marked improvement for a player surely destined for top ten status before too much longer. An acid test to these lofty ambitions will come in tomorrow's QF match with Nikolay Davydenko in the China Open.

The Croat is 2:0 against Davydenko (both wins coming in 2007) and even allowing for the Russian's recent win in Malaysia the value clearly lies with the progressive Cilic (15/8).

More free bets will be online tomorrow with the QF line-up finalised for each event and all the top players due to play.

Wednesday 7th October

The early demise of No.1 seed Juan Martin Del Potro in Tokyo has split the draw wide open in the Japan Open. A good opportunity, for the evergreen Australian, Lleyton Hewitt, to exploit a good looking draw as he tries to add a second title for 2009 (having won previously in Houston).

Hewitt faces the mercurial talents of the French player, Fabrice Santoro, for a place in the QF's and despite the 36-year-old retiring at the year end it will be no formality for the No.8 seed, a winner here back in 2001, to see of the wily veteran.

In four previous meetings the pair share a 2:2 record (all hard) and three of those matches have gone to a deciding set. A three set match (2/1) represents clear value compared to a simple win bet on the favourite, Hewitt (1/7), and can produce the same result as earlier in the week when Mathieu/Ljubicic WON 11/8 also went to three sets.

In Beijing, where Rafael Nadal survived a severe test against the Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis, in his R1 match, the seeds look to have a more straightforward task to reach the China Open QF's. Fernando Gonzalez has won his last 6 matches with Marat Safin (6:2 overall) and Nadal, despite trailing James Blake 2:3 in past meetings, is strongly fancied to see off the fading American. The pair together, put in a win double (4/6), looks the best call on an otherwise unappealing day's play in China.

More free bets will be online tomorrow with the QF line-up for each event being finalised and a number of top players scheduled to play.

Tuesday 6th October

US Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro, was a surprise early casualty in R1 of the Japan Open losing 6-4 6-4 to the 25-year-old French player, Edouard Roger-Vasselin. In our outright betting preview for the Tokyo event the dangers of backing the Argentine at a short price (11/10) were highlighted: "... hard to know how Juan Martin Del Potro will play this week. However, whatever his mood, a price hovering around even money is way too short for the South American."

That defeat echoed the demise the day before of No.1 seed, Dinara Safina, in the WTA China Open to the world No.226 Zhang Shuai (a loss that should cost the Russian her top ranking in the women's game).

At this time of the season it's worth noting how the formbook often gets forgotten - an issue discussed in our recent news feature (read here) - as the top players in the game 'switch off' in the latter stages of the season.

Back to the action and Scheduled now for tomorrow morning, previewed yesterday, the Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (15/8) makes appeal against the recent RU in Bucharest, Juan Monaco.

The Argentine, Monaco, might well be considered the 'better player' - ranked 31 to 52 - but his prowess on clay (won 64% of matches) isn't repeated on hard courts (lost 61% of matches). As such, Garcia-Lopez, who has already beaten Monaco twice on clay - they are 2:2 overall - clearly has a chance of a third win today on the faster surface.

As for the rest of the matches in Tokyo, and also across in Beijing and the China Open, the rest of the main players enter the action during the coming 24 hours with Nadal, Roddick, Davydenko and Soderling all starting out.

More free bets will be online tomorrow for R2 of both this week's events.

Monday 5th October

Two tournaments of decent quality this week (both are given the status of ATP World Tour 500 events) which means that the early action lacks a real competitive edge as the top players have, by and large, easy opening matches.

In the Japan Open we see Monfils, Hewitt, Berdych and Tsonga enter the action early but they all offer very little betting interest at this stage of the proceedings. The Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (15/8) makes more appeal against the recent RU in Bucharest, the Argentine, Juan Monaco.

Monaco might well be considered the 'better player' - ranked 31 to 52 - but his prowess on clay (won 64% of matches) isn't repeated on hard courts (lost 61% of matches). As such, he cuts an uneasy figure as the 4/11 favourite against a player, Garcia-Lopez, who has already beaten him twice before on clay - they are 2:2 overall - and clearly has a chance of a third win today on the faster surface. Monaco is no sure thing for this match and certainly no value.

In Beijing, the early starters in the China Open include Nadal, Roddick and Verdasco. Nothing to note in their matches but one R1 tie which could provide a close battle is Paul-Henri Mathieu against Ivan Ljubicic. The lights have rather gone out on the Croat's career in the past 18 months but he can still push the higher ranked Mathieu to a decider. A three set match (11/8) looks the call.

Another player who is fast losing their way these days is the American, James Blake. The 29-year-old is without a win this year and looks in something of a terminal decline. Had he faced a better opponent than Florian Mayer (7/2) today an upset would be seriously considered - Blake is 2:0 against the German.

Don't forget, make sure to sign-up for the outright tournament bets for both of the Japan Open and China Open. More match betting to follow tomorrow from both these events.

Sunday 4th October

In the final of the Malaysian Open it's hard to see why the bookmakers are making Fernando Verdasco the favourite to win the title. The Spaniard has a 1:5 record against his opponent, Nikolay Davydenko, losing both their previous matches on hard courts. He's also the lower ranked player of the two, with less experience and no better current form.

Furthermore, as our news feature shows, Verdasco has a poor record in ATP finals (P8 W3 L5) whilst Davydenko's tally is much better (P21 W16 L5) - you can read the full article by clicking High Ranking But Still A Loser?.

Davydenko (1/1) has to be the call, more so after a fine comeback win over Robin Soderling in yesterday's SF. And in the first set score betting, which has provided some very good winnes recently, Davydenko to win the opener 7-5 (14/1) or 7-6 (11/2) has a decent chance according to the statistics and is worth a small interest.

In the Thailand Open Gilles Simon faces Viktor Troicki (the Serb upsetting the favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga yesterday).

Simon leads their series 2:0 (both clay) and has a better than average record in finals (P7 W5 L2) and should have enough to see off Troicki today. However, in betting terms, there appears little value in this match with the Frenchman a short price (1/2).

Don't forget, make sure to sign-up for the outright tournament bets for both of the Japan Open and China Open which start on Monday. And after another good week of free tennis match bets (top price WON 15/2) there's plenty more to follow over the next seven days.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the best of the action and remember to get on those outright bets for Beijing and Tokyo.

Saturday 3rd October

This week's two tournaments reach their final stages in each of Bangkok, which is hosting the Thailand Open, and Kuala Lumpur, home of the inaugural Malaysian Open. Both sets of SF's being played today.

And next week the play moves onto Beijing with the China Open as well as Tokyo for the Japan Open. Both events will feature outright bets so don't forget to sign-up for our exclusive tournament picks - just click Outright Tennis Bets for full details.

This week's free match bets provided another big success in Bangkok yesterday as Viktor Troicki WON 15/2 in his match with John Isner (another first set correct score bet winner) and there have been other match bet winners as well throughout the past seven days.

Today's SF matches have already seen Gilles Simon defeat Jurgen Melzer in the Thailand Open and next Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Troicki. The No.1 seed should prevail in this match but represents no betting interest whatsoever.

As for Kuala Lumpur, Nikolay Davydenko came from a set down to defeat Robin Soderling to make the final and will face either Fernando Gonzalez or Fernando Verdasco in Sunday championship match.

Gonzalez leads their series 3:2 after a recent win on clay in Barcelona and the Chilean, one of our each-way picks this week (advised at 6/1) is taken to defeat the Spaniard in what could be a close match - these are two evenly matched players but Gonzalez is favoured to win through.

Don't forget, make sure to sign-up for the outright tournament bets for both of the Japan Open and China Open which start on Monday.

Friday 2nd October

Over in Bangkok today, and the Thailand Open, the American, John Isner, battles for a place in the SF's with Viktor Troicki.

Hailing from North Carolina, Isner, one of the tallest player on tour at 6'9", has made vast strides in 2009 on the ATP Tour moving up almost 100 places to a current ranking of 48. He still remains behind the likes of Roddick, Querrey, Blake and Fish in the American pecking order but he has every chance of his huge serve (Isner is 5th for aces on tour this year) carrying him into the top 30 in the next 12 months.

Troicki has similar potential but coming from Serbia there is a view that his game is more suited to slower surfaces. That said, a current ranking of 32 is impressive (aided by a maiden win in Belgrade on carpet in February) even if a little hard to justify given his recent moderate form.

In a match-up of two potential improvers, Isner (4/6) is taken to use his power to best effect and win through to his third SF of the year. Also, given the American's disappointing stats for return of serve the first set score of Isner 7-6 (11/2) or Troicki 7-6 (15/2) is worth an interest.

Staying in Thailand, top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needs to improve on his R2 showing against Ernests Gulbis to see off Marco Chiudinelli. The French player struggled to put away Ernests Gulbis yesterday 6-7 7-6 7-6.

Today's play in the Malaysian Open sees Davydenko, Soderling, Gonzalez and Verdasco as the QF favourites - and the chances are that each of these players (seeded 1-4) will progress to the SF's tomorrow. There seems little incentive at the odds to get involved in their matches.

More tennis tips will follow tomorrow (two winners yesterday) and don't forget you can pre-order copies of the Tennis Formbook 2010. This 400 page guide to the ATP Tour provides comprehensive betting coverage to every tournament played during the coming season.

Thursday 1st October

By the close of play today we'll know the QF line-ups in both of this week's ATP Tour events.

In the Malaysian Open already through to the last eight are the Russians, Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny, plus Robin Soderling. They should be joined there by Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Gonzalez - all appear to have straightforward tasks.

Of more interest is Richard Gasquet against Joachim Johansson. The tall Swede is on the comeback trail yet again after a shoulder injury caused him to quit the tour for good last year. However, a R1 win here against Lleyton Hewitt showed he might still have some future in the game, even now aged 27 (remember, this guy was once ranked No.9 in the world).

That said, he complained of fatigue in that match and might struggle to repeat the form against another player (Gasquet) who is also working his way back to top form. Gasquet (8/13) looks the best call in this match.

Fernando Verdasco should also defeat Karol Beck today but the value lies with the match going longer than expected. The Spaniard may well do the job in straight sets but a three set match (11/4) is far better value than a two set win for either player - a very poor 1/4 chance.

In the Thailand Open, as discussed yesterday, the best bet looks to be Evgeny Korolev (1/1) to defeat Robby Ginepri. Elsewhere, we've got Simon, Melzer and Troicki in the QF's where Tsonga, Beck and Isner should join them later today.

More tennis tips will follow tomorrow but don't forget you can still pre-order copies of the Tennis Formbook 2010. This 400 page guide to the ATP Tour provides comprehensive betting coverage to every tournament played during the coming season.