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I think that the playing surface will determine the winner in this match. This tournament is undoubtedly Zopp's favourite venue, and he therefore asked for protected ranking so he could enter the main draw straight away. He played his first ATP match here, and won his first ATP match here as well - so he certainly enjoys this fast court at this indoor tournament. Carreno, on the other hand, has had a great season so far, but still has to prove himself indoors. He did win a match in Kuala Lumpur recently, but that was against "headless" Bogomolov. Overall, it was Carreno's only second indoor win yet, so I think he'll have to work on that aspect of the game. Zopp has played some of his best matches indoors, so I think he'll use his aggressive play and great serve well and win this one. Details

A lot was already written about de Schepper's current game, and the preview also says a lot about his current situation. This tournaments's first round win was his first one in the last 12 matches, and the pressure over not defending last year's points is getting higher. New hard task awaits him here - he won the tournament last year. His future doesn't seem all too bright after the win in three sets against Serra, who seemed completely lost. Phau, on the other hand, had no difficulties with Herbert, who's game is to some extent similar to de Schepper's (service is the core of his game). German player has had a tough year - he's been struggling with injuries, but wants good results in his favorite indoor tournaments now that he's healthy again. He reached final in five indoor challengers last year - he can play indoors, no doubt about it. I expect him to win the majority of longer rallies and to constantly put pressure on the French player. He's an experienced player who's come across players like his today's opponent before. I believe he can win here. This kind of handicap on de Schepper is never a bad choice and even makes an additional guarantee. Details

This is Rufin's first indoor match of the season, and he's never been a fan of this form of tennis, winning only seven indoor matches in his career. Since he's coming to this tournament after a three-week absence, due to back problems, and he had to retire at his last tournament (US Open), his physical fitness is questionable. On the other hand, Berrer seems to have healed, and even though he wasn't successful at the start of his indoor season, he can certainly do better. He's an indoor specialist, with ATP-level finals in his career. I'm choosing this bet for several reasons. Firstly, another retirement by the Frenchman after the first set is possible (it happened at his last two tournaments). Secondly, there's the adaptation period to the conditions he doesn't like. Berrer has played seven indoor matches this season, after all, and I expect him to start the match better, and later anything could happen. Details

Although I don't really like betting on players of Viola's profile, I have to go for the Italian's win today. There are several reasons for this, the main being his higher level and his current form. The ATP quarter-final in Bogota obviously roused him since he's had a few good challenger appearances and even showed signs of progress at the ATP level. He got through the qualifiers in Bangkok recently, followed by the first round (Devvarman) and I believe he might be playing his best tennis of the season. He's been doing well indoors and, seeing as he's chasing the ranking which would directly enable him to compete in the Australian Open next year, he shouldn't be lacking motivation. One of the reasons Viola is a safer bet is the fact Laaksonen is yet to show signs of progress playing his favourite indoors tournaments. He was defeated as soon as the qualifiers at two of these challengers and he was at his most disappointing in Mons last week, when he didn't manage a single break chance in the final round against Giustino, who favours clay. Considering all this and given Viola's win in their head-to-head this year, his celebrating with at least three games difference seems to me a completely realistic scenario. Details

With the indoors coming along much has changed for Sijsling. He ended his bad run and quickly demonstrated that this are the optimal conditions for him. He was very close to get into an ATP semifinal in Bangkok last week, while he is in an even better rhythm here. He is coming from a decisive victory over Martin, and has eliminated the home favorite Darcis. This was a more difficult test, as expected, but the Dutch passed with flying colors, taking the opponent's serve on six occasions. Gombos made it big by even entering the quarterfinal, and it must be noted he got there with some help. A good draw in the first round (Gigounon) was not unwelcome and Bemelmans missing all nine of his break points in the second round certainly helped a lot. Sijsliing will not make that mistake, and is also a much more dangerous player than the above mentioned two. I believe it would not be a surprise to see him in the semifinal. I expect a clean win by him, and I would also suggest a total handicap on him (-3.5). Details

The first two round victories were career first indoor wins for Giustino, a 22-year-old Italian who showed certain progress this year. He booked 12 challenger wins which is new, as he did not score a single on so far in his career, but they were all on clay. The Italian is what you might call a typical slow surface player, and his physical appearance suggests it as well. Laaksonen on the other hand handles fast conditions better, especially indoors. He already scored 11 such wins this year, most of them from qualifications for tournaments such as this one. He went through three of them so far, "dropping" players such as Bozoljac, Huta-Galung, Millot and Phau. It is then clear we have a duel of two players that may be on par in quality, but the conditions clearly favor one of them. My choice is a clean win for the Swiss, without a lost set, while I see his straight win as excellent combo material. Details

Raonic has lost two service games in the three matches so far and scored 63 aces. He looks ever more dangerous from one round to the next, and the win over Gasquet just proves the mental improvement he has made since he started working with Ljubicic. Berdych has lost four of his service games so far in the tournament, three to Simon, who is very dangerous on return. The Czech's been serving excellently so far, regularly winning 80% or more behind first serve, and he's scored 49 aces. I think we're in for a real serving war here, and they're both aware that they need to be fully focused on serve. I took this bet a few days ago in Raonic's match against Lopez, and in the first set we only saw one break point opportunity, which wasn't converted. Berdych is still a player of greater class than Lopez, and judging by the tennis they've both shown so far, there should be minimal chances on return. The alternative to this bet with higher stake are over 9.5 (not below @ 1.50), +1.5 for Raonic (up to @1.55). Details

This is a match of two players that are both top 5 in world judging by their serve. The match is played in fast indoor conditions, and chances on the return should be rare. Especially in the beginning of the game until they find their rhythm on the return, which is not their forte. Raonic served 21 aces against Matosevic and had 90 percent of first serve points won. But he struggled on the return and only managed to break serve once. Lopez, on the other hand, after beating Djere defeated Go Soeda, and only allowed one break point, had 14 aces and 78 percent of first percent serve. It is obvious that both of them have a good serve, and the number of breaks is a good bet. Especially if we take into account that their last match at the USO, it would be a shame not to take this bet. Details

Congratulations to Sousa for this quarter-finale, but he achieved this due to many lucky circumstances. Firstly, lucky draw in the first round since Lorenzi is not a player for these conditions and he came here from clay, while in the second round he used many problems Stakhovsky had. The Ukrainian player developed fever a night before and slept for only three hours and his exhaustion was obvious in the last set. On the other hand, Tursunov won against Baghdatis and then completely dominated against Kravchuk and we can see he is continued with his great performances he exhibited in America. He is a more complete player than Sousa, much more dangerous in almost all segment and I expect him to use this opportunity and go into the semi-finale. It should be noted that these two players met recently in Cincinnati and Tursunov allowed only five games to Sousa. Details

The very title of this preview tells you a lot about this pick. For some reason Garcia does not sit well with Youzhny, and five wins in six matches are definitely no coincidence. The Spaniard's aggressive style is obviously preventing the Russian from getting into his rhythm. However, the only win he did get was won in this very arena. It happened in the last year quarterfinal, but the match was no one way street, since the second set went to Garcia without a lost game. Besides that one, three more of their matches went to the third set, and due to many factors that would not be a surprising scenario today. This margin could be easily crossed in two sets as well, especially if they both retain the level of serve form round one, since neither of the players lost their serve, and they won over 80% of successful first serves. Details

Though the first match should always be taken with care and bearing in mind he has not fully adjusted to the conditions, what Istomin showed against Groth is below average to say the least. The tall and rather limited Australian had a big ATP win in his hand, but he obviously got spooked, and the Uzbek himself commented he was pretty lucky. Such level of play from Istomin will not pass today, even being better won't cut it, being significantly better just barely might. I think Istomin is not capable of that level at the moment, and the indoor, rather slow conditions obviously don't suit him very well. Judging from his first match, Golubov on the other hand feels fine in those conditions, and since it has been a while since we saw him at the ATP level, I have no doubt he is eager to prove himself. He still remembers the final match of this tournament in 2008, and has already beaten Istomin in two of the three matches they played before. I would not be surprised at all if he were to win. Still, I am going for the safer option which pays with excellent odds at pinni. Details

In tennis, perhaps more than in any other sport, you can clearly see the difference between players playing at junior and senior level. The main reason for that are physical attributes, and experience is also an important factor. Thanks to the invitation for the St. Petersburg ATP, young Kachanov (17) is now playing with the big guys. Despite the talent the youngster probably possesses, this seems like a bit exaggerated decision. Kachanov hasn't played a single match at challenger tournaments in his career so far and he has only one match on the futures level. He does have a very good record as a junior, but his results are not sensational even at that level. He is currently ranked as 19th junior player in the world and the invitation for the ATP tournament is probably the biggest moment in his young career.

Today, he will have Hanescu on the other side of the net, a player that certainly doesn't lack the experience. The 32 year-old Romanian has a pretty good season behind him. He played on ATP level throughout the whole season and in a recent interview he said that his main goal is to be in the TOP 50 when the season ends. This is a pretty realistic goal, especially since he has a couple of tournaments in which he doesn't have to defend any points ahead of him. Also, he is playing well indoors.

With all that in mind, I expect him to continue the tradition of good indoor games against the unworthy opponent. If he takes this match seriously he should win with ease. Details

Kamke hasn't really impressed me at all and I expect that his attempt to defend the title will come to an end today. In the first round he had an inexperienced Challenger level opponent who was not up to the mark, and he still managed to lose his serve twice. Yesterday he almost gambled away an already won match against Dustov, which could have ended differently if the Uzbek hadn't injured himself. That level of tennis will not do him any good today against an inform Berankis who can play even better in such indoor conditions than he has been playing lately. The Lithuanian has lost his serve only once in the last two matches, while facing even tougher opponents. I would put a lower amount on this match only because Berankis is not too reliable and Kamke won his last match, but it was played on outdoor hard so I wouldn't read too much into it. Details

Both players are good on their service. Struff hasnt lost a game on his service in the last two matches while Desein lost only one. But the Belgian player had much tougher opponents against which he played commendably. The German is all in all a better player, but he didnt show his qualities in the last round, especially on receiving, and Rudnev could take the first set easily. Desein is i dare say an even more dangerous player, his serve is very good and i expect him to put on a fight. I thik the match will be much more balnced than the odds suggest. I will bet on total over of the games. Details