Andy Schooler had a 33/1 winner and a 40/1 shot placed during the Australian swing. As the ATP Tour moves on, here are his picks for this week’s events.
Tennis betting tips: ATP Tour
1pt e.w. Radu Albot to win the Singapore Open at 20/1 (general)
1pt Lloyd Harris to win the Singapore Open at 7/1 (BetVictor)
1pt Ugo Humbert to win the Open Sud de France at 7/1 (BoyleSports, Betfred)
0.5pt e.w. Jiri Vesely to win the Open Sud de France at 50/1 (BetVictor, BoyleSports)
0.5pt e.w. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win the Open Sud de France at 33/1 (bet365)
1pt e.w. Thiago Monteiro to win the Cordoba Open at 20/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
0.5pt e.w. Andrej Martin to win the Cordoba Open at 66/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt e.w. Francisco Cerundolo to win the Cordoba Open at 50/1 (BoyleSports)
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Singapore Open
- Singapore (indoor hard)
Having had a taste of what once was normality in Australia – meals out, fans cheering them on – the ATP players return to the reality of the COVID-19 world this week.
The rejigged tour has seen Singapore added to it as a one-off stop but it has been beset by withdrawals, largely due to the fact that a positive COVID test (or even if deemed a close contact with another person who has one) will result in a three-week quarantine period – something of a setback for a player’s ability to earn.
Ten of the original 19 direct entrants have opted out, including Felix Auger-Aliassime and Briton Dan Evans.
Only four of the world’s top 50 remain, with the last direct acceptance now the world number 190, Ramkumar Ramanathan.
The weak field should increase the chance of a big-priced winner and the man I like the most is RADU ALBOT at 20/1.
The Moldovan played well at the Australian Open, defeating top-20 star Roberto Bautista Agut en route to the third round where he lost to Casper Ruud.
We’re not entirely sure how fast the DecoTurf courts will play but Albot is largely suited to indoor conditions.
Back in the autumn he picked up some decent results during the European swing.
He made the quarter-finals in Cologne before taking down Hubert Hurkacz in Paris.
Albot backed that up by finishing the season with another last-eight run in Sofia where he defeated Denis Shapovalov before losing to Adrian Mannarino.
The latter in the top seed here and the pair could meet in the quarter-finals again. Mannarino would start favourite – he’s a strong indoor player too – but that Sofia clash went to three sets and Albot could well turn the tables.
I like his price and am happy to back him each way.
The bottom half of the draw is headed up by Australian John Millman but he disappointed on home soil, his sole win coming against a player ranked outside the world’s top 400.
Main draw Tennis Open 👀
— Lorenzo Andreoli (@LorenzoAndreol4)
As for third seed Marin Cilic, he didn’t win a match in Australia and he also looks too short.
I’ll take them both on with a player who did catch the eye Down Under, namely LLOYD HARRIS.
The South African is another who should enjoy the indoor conditions with his big serve a real weapon.
He showed that at the end of 2020 with his run to the quarter-finals in Cologne including wins over Kyle Edmund and Steve Johnson.
Harris’ efforts in Antwerp were even better with seed Taylor Fritz and Corentin Moutet beaten before a narrow last-eight loss to the eventual champion, Ugo Humbert.
He opens against wild card Adrian Andreev before a potentially-tricky second-round meeting with Alexei Popyrin. However, Harris beat the Aussie in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago.
The bookies aren’t going crazy with Harris’ price but at 7/1 I can see him launching a title challenge.
Open Sud de France
- Montpellier, France (indoor hard)
French players have long performed well at their home events and the added complications of tennis quarantine lift simply add to the home hopes’ chances in Montpellier this week.
Seven of the last eight titles at this tournament have been won by Frenchmen with a remarkable 13 of the last 16 finalists having come from the home nation.
Clearly that’s a trend punters should at least be considering, even with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Roberto Bautista Agut in the field.
The highest-ranked Frenchman in this year’s draw is world number 34 UGO HUMBERT, who is seeded fifth and holds strong title claims.
This rising star thrives indoors and should go well in what are usually pretty fast conditions.
He was victorious in Antwerp - 👇🏼
— Córdoba Open (@CordobaOpen)
