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After a good start of the season, Lu started to play a bit below par, which was expected considering clay season. His plan was to return to Asia for challengers but he got injured there and lost the form. He has returned to clay recently and has left a very poor impression. He does a lot better on grass but considering his form, I don't expect him to start playing better immediately. Adaptation is also important so I expect him to struggle at the start and I see this as an advantage for the Croat. True, he still doesn't belong to this level but he has already won an ATP match on grass. He's left a good impression in the qualifications and I think he can get a surprise result with a brave performance. My final choice is the handicap in the first set, mostly due to adaptation, while a total handicap on the Croat is also a good choice. Details

Janowicz ended his poor run of 9 consecutive defeats in Roland Garros but he didn't persuade me. His problems with confidence were apparent in the match against Tsonga and he will need that confidence in the upcoming period. He is defending a lot of points in Wimbledon and his form is an imperative now but I'm not sure how much he will be able to improve it. I remember his performance on this tournament last year very well as he lost against qualifier Bašić and one could clearly see his problems with the adaption to the conditions. Today I expect a similar scenario and he's facing an ever stronger opponents. Herbert has a great serve, and he's shown that in the qualifiers. He passed them without allowing a single break and I expect him to put up a solid resistance. My final choice is an over of games in the first set as I think the Pole will struggle the most at the start. Details

Sela didn't keep to the checked recipe this season, he rather played ATP clay tournaments than Asian challengers. That move didn't prove to be good, and now he has to fix what he can on grass. The first up is the tournament he won in the past, and no doubt he likes playing here, which could be noticed right in the first performance this year. He defeated the promising Edmund who can play on grass, and that win certainly had bigger value than the one with Fischer. The Austrian defeated his old customer, Kuznetsov, again, but now he's playing against a player he lost to in the past. It's interesting that it happened on this tournament, and I expect the history to repeat itself. Sela is just a more complete and more dangerous player, and he knows his way around when playing on grass. Details

I will repeat my bet on Isner from a few days ago and I think there is no reason for this bet not to be made, in fact, there are even more reasons now. Nothing has changed with Isner and he still has problems with his movements and his return. On the other hand, his serve was great and one should take note of his 35 aces and only 1 serve lost. What's commendable is that he's aware of his problems and I believe he will know how to approach this match. The reason for a higher stake is Robredo who is not a typical player for this type of bets but this should work today. It is well known that the Spaniard struggles against players like this and his score with Karlović and Raonic speak for itself (0-5 altogether). I have personally watched his clash against the Canadian recently (also on clay) and was surprised with his impotence on the return. He struggled a lot to return the second serve, and he stood too far when returning the serve. On the other hand, I believe he's experienced enough to know he has to focus on his own serve and the game after it, so he should be able to take the first set to a tie-break. Since their previous two matches saw a tie break, this bet has an excellent statistical basis. An alternative for it are over 9.5 and 10.5 games in the first set. Details

First of all, I think these are the conditions in which the Slovakian player can do better, something that his recent results also show. He was one of the most successful players on tournaments like this last season and it seems he has managed to get back to that level. Three convincing wins against much more dangerous opposition than the ones that the Hungarian faced are a proof enough of that. Fuscovics was able to make the best of a favorable situation that stops being so favorable today. I think his performances show that he's got nothing to hope for here, as was the case in their only H2H so far, which was also played on clay. Details

The Slovenian is back after his foot injury. He got his first win against Phau after three months, but it was clear he was not at his usual level. He had an almost identical situation here as Ward missed a break in the decisive set. Kavčić's fighting spirit is beyond any doubt here but his performance is far from great. On the other hand, Martin reminded us of his performances last year when he got into the final challenger masters. He has had two convincing wins against what I could say are more dangerous players than Kavčić and one might conclude he has found his form. I expect him to continue playing this way and I don't see him as the underdog with the performances shown here. I see him as the winner today. Details

I honestly don't see why Beck is so favored here. He is consistent this year on this level, and has very good results, but all from indoors. He basically just came to clay, while Ramirez played almost all his matches on clay this year. So, I would compensate for his better level by this segment, and I really don't see an extreme favorite here. Both got to this finals without a lost set, and I expect a real battle today. My recommendation is definitely a handicap for the Spaniard, but I think this margin is completely missed, so that's my final choice. Details

After Meffert missed the end of the last season because of the right hand injury, and the first three months of this season, we could only see him in four tournaments so far. He changed three types of courts and even though he had some wins, they were all against the qualifier's type of unknown players. He only had one match on clay, in the far An-Ning ten days ago, when he was defeated in the first round. Unlike him, Ouahab is consistently seen on clay, and you have to admit his form is getting better. In Tunisia, he recently defeated Kamke, then Haider in Rome last week, and then he struggled against the "hot" Cecchinato. He has the conditions and the form here, so I expect him to use those advantages against a player whom he already defeated in one match they played against each other. Details

After everything I've seen here and over the last weeks I simply must play on the Swiss to win. Though he is not the typical clay player, Marti played great since the clay season started and even took a set from Ramos recently in the qualifiers for Munich. He could not do more against a player of such caliber but he is doing great at this lower level. He has not dropped a set yet here in four matches, and is obviously filled with confidence. On the other side we've got Olivetti, who deserves congratulations for this quarterfinal, but as we said in the preview, he got here on a healthy dose of luck. The Frenchman never favored these conditions, and simply doesn't have the game for them, which I expect the Swiss will take advantage of by playing patiently. I believe Olivetti will last for as long as his serve lasts, and that cannot last throughout the match. Details

If it's working don't change it. The Frenchman currently has a run of 8 consecutive wins and is without a doubt in excellent form. After getting through the qualifiers here he beat experienced Serra with slight initial problems then got into a match against another experienced player that has never fared too well on clay. Mertl has made the best of Zeballos's weaknesses and got into one of his rare wins in these conditions but he hasn't convinced me. He will rely on his serve in this match as well but I expect the Frenchman to be much better in his conversion of major points than the Argentine was (1/7 with two missed match points). Details

Serra's form has been alarming this year and the career of this former Top 40 player is drawing to a close. He has gotten only one challenger win so far and that was indoors where he seems to be doing his best. On clay, he has played two challengers recently and he got stock in the qualifiers on both occasion. He did have one solid performance at the futures level when he was stopped by the opponent he's facing today in the semi-finals. And the current form definitely speaks in favor of Eyssseric. After the quarter-finals in Vercelli, he has won seven matches in a row, two of which were qualifications for this tournament. So there will be no doubt that the current momentum and adaptation are his huge assets. Details

Even if this were played indoors where both players have played their 3 matches here, I would go for Ginepri. Since nice weather is expected in Tally today, we will see a grass match. That's not the primary role for the experienced American but he still does much better on it than the Irishman who is a typical hard court player. He confirmed that on last two challenger with these conditions, while Ginepri was quite successful on grass. In his last attempt here, he reached the finals, while he reached the quarter-finals in Houston ATP last year. This season, he has passed through the three rounds of qualifications. In any case, I think he's a much better player for these conditions and I expect him to prove that in front of home fans. Details

The American has a few important things on his side. First and foremost, that would the general clay-surface performance since the Irish does clay only when he has to. The 20-year old who won the junior Roland Garros title definitely has potential. And he's been displaying that potential more often lately. He got through qualification in Savannah last year, and then gave Melzer a hard time, to then record two convincing qualifying matches wins here. To sum it up, current form, adjustment to the surface, home atmosphere, and potential on this surface are all Fratangelo's advantages. I think he will win today. Details

I don't understand the odds and I'm trying to understand where they came from. The only thing that would justify these nearly even odds is the similar ranking of these two players but it's not a realistic state of things for Kyrgios and this extremely talented Australian will soon be miles ahead of Bagnis. The Argentine player has secured his first semi-final this season but he was lucky with the draw as he faced players who are not the best performers on clay. He struggled the most against Dancevic yesterday as he allowed 16 break chances but his opponent completely failed in terms of conversion. Such tennis will not go well for Bagnis here, in fact, I think even a better performance wouldn't help him. Kyrgios is simply brilliant in all segments at the moment and he is currently justifying his role as the most perspective young player. He now has 8 consecutive wins, he's brimming with confidence and I see no reason for him not to get the ninth win. I expect the odds on him to drastically drop until the end. Details

Kyrgios has been playing great tennis lately and there is no doubt he is doing well on this fast type clay. He has had seven consecutive wins there, 2 of which are from this tournament and were very convincing. On the other hand, Kuznetsov also got two wins and ended his negative run but those wins were expected. He played against two players who were invited and he struggled more against them than the Australian did with promising players. There is no doubt the Australian has left a better impression and that he has better form and confidence. Details

I would just like to emphasize the main assets of the young American player. First of all, there is no doubt he has more quality than his ranking reflects and now that he's completely healthy, we can actually see that. He has had several very valuable wins this season (de Bakker, Goffin, Jaziri), and that is something McGee can only dream of. Kosakowski's last valuable win came in the first round here when he surprised Russel and a win put him through in the second round. McGee had a much harder time getting there than he expected as he struggled against a player who's not even in Top 2000. This just confirmed that the Irishman doesn't like surfaces like these and that he plays on them only when he has to. That's why every aspect speaks in favor of the American (form, quality, adaptation, home fans) and I don't see anything but a convincing win for him. Details

As the preview itself suggests, Veić is entering this match with a bit of an advantage, and I think he will know how to exploit that. The issue is adaptation, as he went through the qualifiers here with a convincing performance, and also showed he is improving in form. Marchenko never preferred these conditions, and plays them only when he practically has to. He won only 12 such matches over the last 5 seasons, and although the surface is a bit faster clay, I don't see how he can threaten the improving and success-hungry Croatian player. Details

Boelli seems to have been doing better at this tournament so far, and I just can't ignore that. He knocked out the two players who are both experts for these condition (Pospisil, Ungur), proving that he's ready to go all the way. David Cup last weekend clearly did him good, it gave him the chance to play on clay, which is not the case with Bedene. His last match was indoors, he complained about ankle pain, and the same, judging by his results, might happen here. Bedene was very unconvincing the first two rounds, which was not expected against players such as his previous opponents. I think he needs to improve his game significantly if he want to beat Bolellie, who is doing increasingly better, and who is the favorite for the win here in my book. The base for this bet are their performances here, and Bedene's ankle problems just an additional reason. Details

This is a clash of players with a similar ranking that may seem like a 50-50 match, but I don't see it that way. I would rather say this is a typical clash of players with similar quality, who prove what they're worth in different conditions. Colarini is definitely better on clay as the 22-year-old has played almost every match this season on clay. He has two futures titles in as many tournaments, while he mostly lost against better players on the challenger level. Coppejans is a Belgian, two years younger than Colarini and he's proven his potential with a couple of results, but they all came from hard courts. This year, we played on outdoor concrete almost exclusively, while the only clay tournament he has played was the last week's futures. He was stopped by Sančić, player not even in Top 1000, which says a lot about his readiness and adaptation. Details