Good start to the grasscourt season, there look to be a few more betting options today as we follow the road to profit. All the action today appears to be in Germany though as I can't find anything of note on show at Queen's.
Halle First Round.
Rainer Schuettler vs Nicolas Lapentti
h2h 1-0 Lapentti
01 Hamburg TMS Clay R64 Nicolas Lapentti 6-4 7-6(3)
Neither of these players could be classed as fans of grass so the odds on this match surprise me. Schuettler's inglorious grass record includes two wins at Newport (over Ho and Sargsian, losing to Paes) in a tournament that would rank below several Australian regional events such is the standard. He not won a single round at Halle or Nottingham in several attempts, but has managed to win three matches at the All-England Club, beating Nuno Marques, Carlos Moya and Nicolas Escude, all players that have no time for the surface at all (possible exception of Escude). Since the Australian Open where he made the fourth round, he has not won two matches in a row.
Nicolas Lapentti hasn't done a great deal on grass either, but at least he has better results over his career. His grass court record includes a third-round appearance here last year, losing to eventual winner David Prinosil. Just a few weeks later, he had his biggest grasscourt win, defeating a limping Rusedski in a Davis Cup tie at Wimbledon.
Not a convincing case to get involved in this match, but with Lapentti winning the previous match between them, also on German soil, and having better form both this year and over their careers, then I believe Lapentti should at least be a slight favourite in this clash.
5pts Lapentti 2.20 at Canbet
Andrei Pavel vs Bohdan Ulihrach
h2h 1-0 Ulihrach
97 Prostejov, Challenger Clay R32 Bohdan Ulihrach 6-0 6-1
Ignore the previous result and the surface and you would have a very close match here. But Pavel is a player much more adept at playing on grass, and Ulihrach wiped the court with him at their only previous encounter.
Pavel's record on grass in the last two years is very handy for a European - ten wins and five losses, including a final appearance at s'Hertogenbosch. He deserves to be favoured here but I think bookies may be getting a little carried away.
Ulihrach is in hot form. He dispelled injury rumours at Roland Garros with crushing wins over Mantilla and Puerta before a loss to young Spaniard Robredo, then went to Prostejov and won the $100k Challenger event there. His grass record is non-existent, as is his doubles record which could have been an asset if he is accustomed to volleying a lot.
Pavel should win this match, but this is a value play - Ulihrach should not be any bigger than 2/1 in my opinion.
3pts Ulihrach 3.46 at Canbet
Nicolas Escude vs Daniel Nestor
A tough match to rate this one, with one player almost in exile from the singles tour, against another player that is no better than handy on grass.
Daniel Nestor has the advantage of three qualifying matches under his belt without having played a singles match on clay this year. His opponents in qualifying were hardly worldbeaters - Bachelot, Ullyett and Waske, but he didn't drop a set and made sure his big serve was in tune.
Escude went 7-3 last year on grass but beat some very ordinary players - Trifu, Vinck, Van Lottum, Youzhny, Clavet, Chang and Canas. At least the latter four have ability on some surfaces, but when faced with Kafelnikov, Rafter and Schuettler, he was unable to win a set. He reached the final four in doubles at Roland Garros along with partner Arnaud Clement, even beating Nestor & Sandon Stolle in the third round which will give the Canadian a little more motivation today.
Nestor's serve is one of the better ones on grass, and if he has it firing, then he becomes very tough to beat.
4pts Nestor 2.35 at WilliamHill
Fabrice Santoro vs Alexander Popp
Alexander Popp's 15 minutes of fame came last year when he reached the quarters at Wimbledon. Since then, he has taken a major step backwards. I can only find two wins (and five losses) for him so far in 2001 with sporadic appearances in main draws. He doesn't seem to have played in any qualifiers either, so that suggests he has had nagging injury problems as he has played just five matches since the Australian Open, and no doubles either.
Fabrice Santoro plays a lot of doubles and knows what he needs to do to win on grass. Last year he played three grass events and reached the second round at each, in previous years he has gone as far as the quarter-finals at Nottingham. No champion on the surface, but good enough to dispose of a player totally out of form.
7pts Santoro 2.15 at Olympic
Halle First Round.
Rainer Schuettler vs Nicolas Lapentti
h2h 1-0 Lapentti
01 Hamburg TMS Clay R64 Nicolas Lapentti 6-4 7-6(3)
Neither of these players could be classed as fans of grass so the odds on this match surprise me. Schuettler's inglorious grass record includes two wins at Newport (over Ho and Sargsian, losing to Paes) in a tournament that would rank below several Australian regional events such is the standard. He not won a single round at Halle or Nottingham in several attempts, but has managed to win three matches at the All-England Club, beating Nuno Marques, Carlos Moya and Nicolas Escude, all players that have no time for the surface at all (possible exception of Escude). Since the Australian Open where he made the fourth round, he has not won two matches in a row.
Nicolas Lapentti hasn't done a great deal on grass either, but at least he has better results over his career. His grass court record includes a third-round appearance here last year, losing to eventual winner David Prinosil. Just a few weeks later, he had his biggest grasscourt win, defeating a limping Rusedski in a Davis Cup tie at Wimbledon.
Not a convincing case to get involved in this match, but with Lapentti winning the previous match between them, also on German soil, and having better form both this year and over their careers, then I believe Lapentti should at least be a slight favourite in this clash.
5pts Lapentti 2.20 at Canbet
Andrei Pavel vs Bohdan Ulihrach
h2h 1-0 Ulihrach
97 Prostejov, Challenger Clay R32 Bohdan Ulihrach 6-0 6-1
Ignore the previous result and the surface and you would have a very close match here. But Pavel is a player much more adept at playing on grass, and Ulihrach wiped the court with him at their only previous encounter.
Pavel's record on grass in the last two years is very handy for a European - ten wins and five losses, including a final appearance at s'Hertogenbosch. He deserves to be favoured here but I think bookies may be getting a little carried away.
Ulihrach is in hot form. He dispelled injury rumours at Roland Garros with crushing wins over Mantilla and Puerta before a loss to young Spaniard Robredo, then went to Prostejov and won the $100k Challenger event there. His grass record is non-existent, as is his doubles record which could have been an asset if he is accustomed to volleying a lot.
Pavel should win this match, but this is a value play - Ulihrach should not be any bigger than 2/1 in my opinion.
3pts Ulihrach 3.46 at Canbet
Nicolas Escude vs Daniel Nestor
A tough match to rate this one, with one player almost in exile from the singles tour, against another player that is no better than handy on grass.
Daniel Nestor has the advantage of three qualifying matches under his belt without having played a singles match on clay this year. His opponents in qualifying were hardly worldbeaters - Bachelot, Ullyett and Waske, but he didn't drop a set and made sure his big serve was in tune.
Escude went 7-3 last year on grass but beat some very ordinary players - Trifu, Vinck, Van Lottum, Youzhny, Clavet, Chang and Canas. At least the latter four have ability on some surfaces, but when faced with Kafelnikov, Rafter and Schuettler, he was unable to win a set. He reached the final four in doubles at Roland Garros along with partner Arnaud Clement, even beating Nestor & Sandon Stolle in the third round which will give the Canadian a little more motivation today.
Nestor's serve is one of the better ones on grass, and if he has it firing, then he becomes very tough to beat.
4pts Nestor 2.35 at WilliamHill
Fabrice Santoro vs Alexander Popp
Alexander Popp's 15 minutes of fame came last year when he reached the quarters at Wimbledon. Since then, he has taken a major step backwards. I can only find two wins (and five losses) for him so far in 2001 with sporadic appearances in main draws. He doesn't seem to have played in any qualifiers either, so that suggests he has had nagging injury problems as he has played just five matches since the Australian Open, and no doubles either.
Fabrice Santoro plays a lot of doubles and knows what he needs to do to win on grass. Last year he played three grass events and reached the second round at each, in previous years he has gone as far as the quarter-finals at Nottingham. No champion on the surface, but good enough to dispose of a player totally out of form.
7pts Santoro 2.15 at Olympic
