Welcome to what will hopefully be a weekly article looking at which players on tour may find themselves in precarious situations based on scheduling, travel and general fatigue. As I have been watching tennis over the years, I have subjectively noticed that players regularly find themselves in an interesting spots, generally due to perhaps overperform the week before. I have received a number of messages over the years from people backing players in such situations and being quite shocked when they don’t play up to their potential or perhaps their form of the week previous.
I will keep these short, sharp and to the point, as I am almost expecting some of these players to withdraw from this weeks tournaments, especially as the Australian Open is only a week away.
Gilles Simon
Last Week -> Pune, India (currently playing in the final at the time of writing)
Next Week -> Sydney (hot conditions)
Travel Time -> over 12 hours of flying time
Opponent -> Jared Donaldson (played Brisbane last week, adjusted to Australian conditions, short travel time between tournaments)
Odds (with Pinnacle at time of writing) -> Gilles Simon ($1.65) vs Jared Donaldson ($2.37)
Note: Simon has also played a full week of doubles in India, reaching the final there as well
Suggested Bet
3 units Donaldson to defeat Simon at $2.37 at Pinnacle
Andrey Rublev – CANCELLED
Last Week -> due to play the Final in Doha overnight against Gael Monfils
Next Week -> round 1 meeting with Tsitsipas in Auckland
Travel Time -> Doha to Auckland is considered the world series longest direct flight, taking just over 16 hours and crossing 10 time zones.
Opponent -> Tsitsipas (Also played in Doha, and played well, however has a 48 hour jump on Rublev in terms of getting to Auckland
Odds (with Pinnacle at time of writing) -> Rublev ($2.14) vs Tsitsipas ($1.78)
Suggested Bet
5 units Tsitsipas to defeat Rublev at $1.78 at Pinnacle
Guido Pella
Last Week -> Doha – made semi finals, losing to Rublev in a 3rd set tiebreak
Next Week -> Auckland
Travel Time -> Doha to Auckland is considered the world series longest direct flight, taking just over 16 hours and crossing 10 time zones.
Opponent -> Pablo Cuevas (first tournament for season)
Odds (with Pinnacle at time of writing) -> Pella ($1.77) vs Cuevas ($2.25)
Suggested Bet
3 units Cuevas to defeat Pella at $2.25 at Pinnacle
Benoit Paire
Last Week -> India (Pune) – lost semi final to Kevin Anderson in 3 sets
Next Week -> Sydney
Travel Time -> considering flights and connections, the full travel process can take over 24 hours
Opponent -> Aljaz Bedene (lost tight second round 2 set match in Doha vs Thiem 3 days ago)
Odds (with Pinnacle at time of writing) -> Paire ($1.94) vs Bedene ($1.94)
Suggested Bet ->
4 units Bedene to defeat Paire at $1.94 at Pinnacle
Irena Begu and katerina Siniakova
Siniakova made the final in both singles and finals in Shenzhen, and Begu made the final in the doubles and the semi finals in the singles. Both players finished up very late Saturday night, and both are coming up against serviceable players in Hobart (Riske and Niculescu). Also should be noted that Niculescu made the final here last year in Hobart.
Suggested Bets
4 units Niculescu to defeat Begu at $2.02 at Pinnacle
2 units Riske to defeat Siniakova at $2.07 at Pinnacle
RYAN HARRISON
Ryan Harrison taking the long road to the Australian Open. After losing to Nick Kyrgios last night, Harrison now crosses the ditch to play Steve Johnson. I am not sure why he is going ahead with this, but I have to oppose Harrison here after a long week in Brisbane.
Suggested Bet
4 units Johnson to defeat Harrison at $1.68 at Pinnacle
