Copa Telmex Tennis Betting Tips Ferrer and Monaco begin campaign

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Top seed David Ferrer and fourth seed Juan Monaco begin their Copa Telmex campaign today in Buenos Aires. They take on Simon Greul and Lukasz Kubot respectively. Both Ferrer and Monaco are favoured firmly to go through to the second round; however, not all might be as straightforward as the market would indicate, at least not where the matchup between Kubot and Monaco is concerned. You see, Kubot was the runner-up at the Brazil Open last week. Kubot hitting his stride in Buenos Aires with a huge win over the home favourite, Monaco might not be as outrageous as some might think.

Here is a look at the odds BetOnline has unveiled on the Copa Telmex first round matches.

Tennis Betting Line:

David Ferrer -5½ -115 -700 19½ O -110 U -130
Simon Greul +5½ -125 +400 19½ O -110 U -130

First set Line: David Ferrer -500 Simon Greul +300

Match Time: 05:30 PM Eastern Time Tuesday February 16, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: David Ferrer is the bookies favourite in this match, carrying a price of -700. Recommending Ferrer’s solid price is a 2-0 lifetime mark against Simon Greul as well as a significant on paper edge. Ferrer ranks No.19 in the world and takes a 4-3 mark into their first round encounter. Greul, by contrast, ranks No.60 in the world and takes a negative mark on the season at 1-5.

I imagine the betting trend will fall in line with Ferrer. He is the smart play to win outright. At -700 to win the match and -500 to win the first set, tennis bettors will not be laughing their way to the bank. Better value plays would for Ferrer backers would be to take the Spaniard to cover the spread at – 5 ½ -115 and to win Under 19 ½ -110.

Greul backers might fancy a punt on his tempting underdog +400 odds to win outright but if you ask me, Greul has a better chance of making this match competitive than winning it. As such, the only reasonable play on Greul is the handicap at + 5 ½ -125 combined with the Over 19 ½ -110. Taking the first set at +300 is an attractive option but still a long shot in his case. On two previous occasions, he failed to take a set off Ferrer.

Tennis Betting Line:

Lukasz Kubot +4½ -110 +300 20½ O -125 U -115
Juan Monaco -4½ -130 -500 20½ O -125 U -115

First set Line: Lukasz Kubot +225 Juan Monaco -350

Match Time: 07:30 PM Eastern Time Tuesday February 16, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: It will be the first career meeting between Juan Monaco and Lukasz Kubot. The No.27 Monaco, seeded fourth in Buenos Aires, takes a 7-3 mark on the season into his first round encounter, which includes a runner-up finish in Santiago, Chile a fortnight ago. Monaco was supposed to compete at the Brasil Open last week but withdrew.

Meanwhile, No.48 Kubot takes a 9-4 mark into his first round encounter that includes a runner-up finish in Costa do Sauipe on Sunday, wherein he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero, and a quarterfinal appearance at Doha and a last 16 appearance at the Australian Open. Kubot has been impressive since the start of his season and on the back of those results, he has jumped from No.101 (at the start of the season) to his current ranking within the top 50.

Monaco enters this match as the -500 favourite. He is the bookies favourite to win and he will be the crowd favourite to win as well. Home edge will be a huge factor in this match methinks, especially when Monaco’s form is tad questionable. He withdrew from the Brasil Open last week so one wonders whether he has recovered from the injury/fatigue that forced him to skip the event.

Kubot is a tempting underdog at +300 to win outright considering his Cinderella run last week. The Polish tennis player clearly has clay-court skills. Although he lost pretty badly to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final 6-0, 6-1 and it remains to be seen whether he can put the poor performance behind him.

The way I see this match: Monaco to win in three sets with Kubot starting strong but fading quickly. Therefore, I like Kubot to take the first set, which is trading at reasonable +225 odds, and Kubot to cover the spread at + 4 ½ -110. With many fans coming out to cheer Monaco on, he should pull through a tough three-setter so the Over 20 ½ -125 would be a good additional play.

If you enjoyed this article then get full access to all our other features plus a 50% bonus when you sign up with us by clicking on this link