The Overrule

By Sports Magician

ATP CASABLANCA & HOUSTON

CASABLANCA

The clay court season now begins to get into full swing in preparation for the French Open in late May. Juan Carlos Ferrero will not be in Casablanca to defend the title he won last year, but Stanislas Wawrinka headlines the list of entries and stands a good chance of justifying his tag as tournament favourite after a good draw. Wawrinka is one of four players afforded a first round bye and it’s hard to see who can stop him from reaching the final should he play close to his potential.

Richard Gasquet and Olivier Rochus meet again, as they did in Miami, where the little Belgian beat the Frenchman in three sets. Victor Hanescu and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez are threats to come out of the bottom half of the draw, which contains greater depth than the top half. Like Wawrinka, Hanescu and Garcia-Lopez also have the benefit of a first round bye. The Overrule will be backing Wawrinka to land the title and we’ll also throw half a point each-way on the big serving Romanian.

PICK: 2.5*STANISLAS WAWRINKA WIN CASABLANCA @ 3.5 (STAN JAMES)

PICK: 0.5*(EACH-WAY) VICTOR HANESCU WIN CASABLANA @ 15.00 (1/2 ODDS 1-2 PLACES) (BET 365)

HOUSTON

American clay courts don’t play like European ones and the speedier clay should suit a number of players in the draw who might ordinarily not expect to perform so well on the red stuff. Lleyton Hewitt won the event last year and is in the draw hoping to defend his title. However, the Aussie will face stiff competition from Fernando Gonzalez and Sam Querrey. Gonzalez is the top seed in the draw and receives a first round bye before a potential second round meeting with Donald Young.

In the bottom half of the draw, Querrey stands out as the each-way value. The American feels relatively comfortable on clay and the courts should suit him fairly well. The Overrule will be backing Gonzalez to make good on his number one seeding, as well as counting on Querrey to come through the bottom half with an each-way selection.

PICK: 2.5*FERNANDO GONZALEZ WIN HOUSTON @ 2.38 (STAN JAMES)

PICK: 1*(EACH-WAY) SAM QUERREY WIN HOUSTON @ 6.50 (1/2 ODDS 1-2 PLACES) (BET 365)


WTA MARBELLA & PONTE VEDRA BEACH

MARBELLA

Victoria Azarenka can get her clay court season off to a flying start by winning the title in Marbella. Azarenka is top seed for the event in Spain but its US Open champion Kim Clijsters who will be the headline attraction. The Belgian won the tier I event in Miami this past weekend that Azarenka tried and failed to defend. Clijsters defeated Azarenka on her way to winning Miami, and if Clijsters can transition quickly from the hard courts to clay, then a blockbuster final may be in prospect.

Given the lack of preparation Clijsters will have had for the event, we can’t consider backing her for the title at her current price. The tournament also features Flavia Pennetta, Maria Kirilenko and Gisela Dulko. As well as the expected Spanish contingent that will hope to perform well on home soil. If Azarenka is in the right frame of mind, she stands a very good chance of reaching the final, and would then be favourite in the final against anyone other than Clijsters.

PICK: 3*(EACH-WAY) VICTORIA AZARENKA WIN MARBELLA @ 5.00 (1/2 ODDS 1-2 PLACES) (STAN JAMES)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH

Caroline Wozniacki returns to defend the title she won last year and enters the tournament as number one seed. The Dane has some stiff competition in her half of the draw with a potential match-up against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last eight. That possible encounter is the stand out prospective match that the draw has conjured up. Wozniacki has already played a lot of tennis this year, a natural consequence of going deep in tournaments regularly, but it will be important that her camp format her schedule appropriately to avoid burn out.

Dominika Cibulkova will enjoy being back on clay and her never say die attitude and ability to grind makes her the value each-way selection in the bottom half of the draw. The Slovak may well be over powered in a final against Wozniacki or Pavlyuchenkova but she has the necessary ingredients to get there.

PICK: 1*(EACH-WAY) DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA WIN PONTE VEDRA BEACH @ 8.00 (1/2 ODDS 1-2 PLACES) (STAN JAMES)

Sports Magician