ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament: Djokovic headlines draw

Rotterdam, Netherlands – Last year’s instalment of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament was headed up by Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray and the pair navigated a course into the final where Murray topped an injured Nadal in three sets.

This year both protagonists are absent. In their place, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko take over as top two seeds and lead their respective sections of the draw. Joining Djokovic and Davydenko is third seed Robin Soderling, fourth seed Gael Monfils and fifth seed Tommy Robredo, to name a few.

Djokovic will be the main attraction at the ABN AMRO and he is set to kick off his tournament on Day 2. Elsewhere, dark horse Mikhail Youzhny, the sixth seed, is also in action.

Tennis Betting Line: Andrey Golubev +200 Mikhail Youzhny -300

Match Time: Not Before 05:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 9, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Russian Mikhail Youzhny clawed his way back into the top 20 late last season. One of the most improved players on the term indeed. Youzhny was a quarterfinalist in Rotterdam last year and with newfangled confidence in his game, he will aim to better that result this time around. He takes on Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan in the first round, a player he has beaten once before – St. Petersburg (2009) 6-3, 6-2. Youzhny is 2-1 on the season and takes a solid -300 price tag into his opening round clash.

World No. 106 Golubev is 1-2 on the season and 15/26 lifetime on the ATP. The 22-year-old has clearly struggled to survive in the big league and it is no surprise that he is the underdog in this match. He isn’t however priced out of the market, tipped modestly at +200.

Tennis Free Picks: Youzhny in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Novak Djokovic -2500 Sergiy Stakhovsky +900

Match Time: Not Before 05:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday February 9, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Novak Djokovic is making his first appearance since falling in the Australian Open quarters a fortnight ago, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five set marathon. This is also Djokovic’s second tournament of the season but he is the newly minted world No.2 after Nadal dropped to fourth place following his retirement against Andy Murray in the Melbourne quarters.

Djokovic takes a 4-1 mark into his first round encounter and all the on paper edge imaginable. He also owns a 1-0 edge against world No.69 Stakhovsky. The tennis-betting trend will most definitely side with Djokovic. The market considers him the sure play, tipping him at a whopping price tag of -2500. Is he the sure play? Better yet, is Stakhovsky a credible threat at +900. More likely than not, he isn’t a credible threat. To beat Djokovic he would have to play lights out tennis, something which I have yet to see from him.

Tennis Free Picks: Djokovic in straight sets