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A duel of what I'd call 'heavy weights' and player who are primarily characterized by their serves. This is also why these conditions suit them best, and they've already achieved a lot by getting to the second round of the tournament, Berrer also went through the qualifiers prior to that, but after beating Huta he got a day off and I'm expecting he will give his best today. Sijsling once again surprised us on the first day by eliminating Youzhny with great ease, even though his opponent was not his best self.
The Dutchman hit 73% of his first serve and won 81% of points on first serve, but managed to shine on returns only because the Russian helped a lot. Berrer knows he will have to fully focus on his serve today, and I expect he will function well in the initial stage, while he remains "fresh". I honestly expect a match similar to the only one they played indoors so far (2012), when the first set went into tie break, and then Sijsling broke his opponent down. Details

I still remember the situation around Gasquet on this tournament last year. The Frenchman arrived here after the trophy in Montpellier, he was visibly exhausted and said that he was more focused on the upcoming Marseille. Baghdatis made the best use of that in the second round and I see a similar scenario going down here. The difference lies in the opponent who is, in my opinion, even more dangerous than the Cypriot who was a bit on the downward spiral then. Kohlschreiber played a very good match against Stakhovski here and he progressed without allowing a break chance. He had an extra day of rest, while Gasquet played against De Bakker for almost two and a half hours yesterday. It was a real torture for the Frenchman who seemed tired and I believe he is nowhere near he best level. The German has already beaten him before and I expect him to do it again and make use of the great situation that he has. Details

Many factors point towards a victory for the Pollack, and this is what I chose today, with this handicap. Firstly, current form favors him, and when he is in such a rhythm he is a danger to anyone. Last week in Montpellier he reached the semifinal, and the fact he only lost one service game in total speaks volumes of his serve. The conditions in this tournament are quite like what he had there, and should undoubtedly suit him. Benneteau is playing under a lot of pressure here, as it is expected of him to defend his final, and his form is anything but good (two wins in four tournaments he played so far). He also lost both matches he played against Janowicz so far, and I expect that series to continue. Details

After a successful Davis Cup weekend, big things were expected from Kohlschreiber in Zagreb but he only showed new fluctuations. A convincing win against Golubev and a flop against Evans suggest that he is not in the right state of mind and I don't see a reason for that to change here. He didn't go too well on this tournament and I think he's facing a tough task today. Stakhovsky also flopped in Zagreb but then he played these qualifications and went through them without losing a set. He has the adaptation working for him and we should also mention that he has won their only head-to-head so far. Details

First of all, these two players are in completely different form this year - the Czech has been getting great performances while the Italian has only had a single win and 6 defeats (along with the Hopman Cup). The second thing are the conditions, that is, the adaptation as Berdych has been in Europe for two weeks and has played three Davis Cup matches indoors . On the other hand, Seppi went to South America after outdoor hard court and he completely flopped on clay and is now facing fast indoor conditions. There is no doubt the Czech has more aces up his sleeve in these conditions and he has already showed them. He has won both indoor head-to-heads with ease, one of which was played on this tournaments in 2012. Details

I believe everything is working for Monfils today. First of all, he is a better player, despite all the qualities that Nieminen has. He has shown better performances here, he has worn himself down less and he has a perfect score against the Finn. He has beaten him in all three games so far that were played indoors and I expect him to continue this tradition. After the yesterday's performance, he admitted he was happy with his performance while Nieminen complained of fatigue, which is perfectly normal as he played three tiring matches here after a tiring Davis Cup weekend. This nice run will come to an end here and I only see him putting up some resistance at the start of the match. Details

I am going for unrealistic odds here and I suggest a higher stake for over 9.5. Vasselin has so not allowed a singled turnaround in both matches so far while Janowicz didn't allow Manarin to get a single break chance and these facts speak for themselves. The Pole is finally healthy and ready for his favorite conditions here, while Vasselin is playing the best tennis of his career and is in front of his home fans. It is all a very interesting, tight match in which we won't see too many chances on the return. In the only match we saw three years ago on outdoor hard court, we saw two tie-breaks. Details

I'm going after the completely unrealistic odds here. I've been talking about the extremely fast conditions in Montpellier on numerous occasions, and when two great servers such as these two meet, you simply have to do this bet. Monfils was pretty aggressive so far, having lost his service game only once. Istomin, on the other hand, didn't allow Ilhan a single break points. He did the only mistake regarding service yesterday in the second set against Tursunov. But, he managed to win it regardless and that must have given him a boost of confidence, which is something he will need today. I think this will be a tied match, especially in the beginning. Their only head to head match, played indoors as well, is another reason to choose this bet - it ended with two tie-beaks. Details

Mathieu himself said ahead of this match that he likes playing against players from the upper parts of the table, especially the best ones. This statement was proven many times and it is obvious that this gives him a chance to relax and show all his assets. This is, without a doubt, one such match, and several other things speak in Mathieu's favor. First of all, the fact that this is Gasquet's first indoor match this year on hard court, and their matches have often been very tight. Mathieu had an easy task in the first round as Mahut was ill but he had a chance to get the feeling of the match and he was happy with his performance. Gasquet didn't open the season too well and I don't see him having an easy match here. Details

Even though I don't usually bet on matches involving Simon, I will take this one with a higher stake. It is well known that the Frenchman is prone to complications and rarely handles any match routinely, and a lot of things are working against him here. First of all, this is his first match after an extremely hard Australian tour where he was on the crutches at certain points. We will not take that into consideration for this bet, but the adaptation of his more experienced compatriot. Gicquel has had three qualification matches in which he has lost his serve only once, just like in the huge win against Llodra in the first round. He finally beat the player that had beaten him in previous four encounters and he showed his good form. The reason for this tip are the head-to-heads and four indoor wins for Gicquel, even though it is worth mentioning they are from a distant past. However, they do suggest that he is not afraid of his opponent today and armed with this confidence, I see him as a completely equal opponent. Details

I don't expect anyone to win easily - I think the match will be tough and tied. Each of them have things they're good at, but I think that if the French manages to get into the match calm and collected, he will have the chance to win. Despite usually doing good here, Nieminen's performance in the first match was not very good, he was inches away from allowing Nedvyesov to record his first ever ATP win. But, that was his first match and I expect him to do better today. His opponent today will be better as well. Herbert's service is great, and Nieminen will have to work really had to control it on such a fast surface. Besides, Herbert is playing home, and the fan support will prove to be another great challenge for Nieminen. His great advantage is experience. Since both players often tend to complicate things, I'm opting for this over in games. Details

Out of the four head to head matches they played, the first sets in three of them ended with tie-breaks. Both players are well known for their aggressive style and very good serving. That is something definitely useful for the fast surface conditions. We should therefore be in for a very tied, and quite a long match. Istomin didn't allow a single break in the first round, while Tursonov didn't have to play the first round. Hi did however get the chance to feel the indoor conditions in the Davis Cup matches against Poland. I'm choosing this margin with slightly lower stakes. For the higher stakes, I definitely recommend the 9,5 over. Details

Yesterday has shown me that this bet has to be taken on this tournament, especially at these odds. This margin went through in all matches and considering the characteristics of these players and the conditions on the tournament, I believe it should go through today. Even though Vasselin is the favorite due to home court and very good form, Przysiezny can definitely be dangerous indoors, especially in conditions as fast as these. Great serve, aggressive game should guarantee lots of free points both for him and the French. Details

Nothing much to elaborate here, everything should be crystal clear. A clash of two giants known primarily by their great serves without which they would most likely not be in this sport in the first place. While Olivetti's serve reaches 230 kmph, de Schepper relies more on the awkward angles created by the fact that he is left handed and 203cm tall. The conditions in Montpellier are very fast, the bounce is low and both of them will struggle with returning, even more than they usually do. I think we will see a match with few chances and my option is a tiebreak without a lost serve which gives great odds. An alternative would be an over at 10.5 games if you find cca @2.00 and a +1.5 handicap in the first set on Olivetti. I should also mention this bet paid out in their only previous indoor match. Details

Llodra announced he will be retiring this year and the lower intensity in his tennis is already visible. He said his priority will be the Davis Cup, and there is no doubt he will do his best indoors, such as here. But, he only has one match behind him at this moment, played in completely different conditions in Australia, and I expect him to struggle a bit with his first such challenge, especially at the start of the match. Gicquel is a very unpleasant opponent who can also play well in fast conditions such as there, and has had a chance to polish his form in the qualifiers. He only lost his serve once in three matches, and regularly won over 85% of points on his first serve. I therefore expect him to be a tough nut to crack today, as he already was in both indoor matches vs Llondra when this bet paid out. Details

Even though Stepanek is the justified favorite in this match, I see no reason why the Czech veteran should have a walk in the park here. Davis Cup is the competition in which the players give all they've got, and this is Stepanek's main trait even though the Dutch player has also been successful. He has had 16 wins in 23 matches and I think he will put up a solid resistance. He is the first player of the Netherlands and he knows he will have to give his best and I expect a game with less breaks and at least one st for Haase, which should be more than enough for this pretty low margin to go through. The match is played indoors in a hard court and this is an additional bonus for this bet as both players have a good serve. Details

Just like last year, Chardy has once again started the season in great shape and after reaching the semifinal in Brisbane (took a set vs Federer) he continues to perform great here as well. He easily eliminated Huta, and went on to kick out the dangerous Dolgopolov in one of the best matches so far. Ferrer on the other hand did absolutely nothing impressive at the start of this season, on the contrary. He often gave statements critiquing himself, and it seems his cooperation with the new coach is not working out best so far. However, on account of his experience and quality alone he managed to get to the third round, where a real challenge awaits now. Chardy is obviously playing his best tennis in this tournament, he is finally healthy, and has shown he can play vs Ferrer in their previous matches (won six sets in five matches). He has carrer wins vs Murray and Tsonga, and it is my opinion that he can be more than equal in this battle. However, due to his often impetuous temper and the Spaniard's enormous fighting spirit, I decided to go with this handicap although I would not be surprised if the Frenchman got a clean win. Details

Mayer is the favorite here for a reason, despite being ranked 17 positions below his opponent. Janowicz's start of the year has once again been plagued by injures (foot), and he is playing here with questionable fitness. As if those issues were not enough, he also had severe heat induced headaches in his last match (Andujar). Mayer on the other hand also had a tough match, but a much more dangerous opponent as well (Youzhny), and has proven that he is ready and in good shape. He has already shown he is willing and able vs Janowicz (won both matches) and I expect him to send the player from Poland packing from this tournament, something far less dangerous Thompson or Andujar could have already done.
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I'll be hunting unrealistically high odd here. There's been much talk of conditions in the Australian open this year, and judging from the results themselves, meaning the statistics, the surface is undoubtedly somewhat faster. The horrid heat certainly plays a role as well, making breaks a rarity with servers as good as these. Raonic is ahead of Hanescu in that segment, but the Romanian is an experienced player who knows how to position himself in matches such as these. Although the Canadian has made some progress lately, his returns still don't instill confidence, while it is not a strong suit for Hansecu either. I should also note that both players took the opening set of their first match to a tie break, and I expect that scenario to repeat here, followed by a somewhat easier job for the tall Canadian. I'm going to go with the higher odds here and a somewhat lower stake, while for a bigger stake I'd go for the over on the 9.5 margin. Details

I don't see a one-way match here and I expect a huge fight. After preparing in Chennai, Lu got the best result of his career last week (Brisbane finals), and he continued his great form here. We dropped only 6 games against his compatriot Wang and his confidence is obviously running high, which is what he'll need against the talented Bulgarian. And Dimitrov has made a good impression in the first round, especially on his serve as he didn't allow a single break. On the other hand, Klahn covered this margin against him and I expect Lu to put up an even bigger resistance. An important factor here are the conditions as there have been far less breaks this year and serve plays a much more important role. Details