LA Tennis Open Second Round – Fish and Querrey eye quarterfinals

Los Angeles, USA – Four Americans will step up to the plate today but there are only three quarterfinal spots to go between them. Robert Kendrick takes on Dudi Sela; No.2 seed Mardy Fish will battle Australian Chris Guccione at prime time on Thursday; and No.3 seed Sam Querrey and qualifier Ryan Sweeting will battle in an all-American clash for a spot in the Los Angeles quarters. Who will advance? Here is a look at some of these marquee matchups, complete with BetOnline tennis betting lines and odds.

Tennis Betting Line:

Ryan Sweeting +4½ -115 +350 20½ O -135 U -105

Sam Querrey -4½ -125 -600 20½ O -135 U -105

Match Time: 05:00 P.M. Eastern Time Thursday July 30 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: It will be the first career meeting between No.155 Ryan Sweeting and No.32 Sam Querrey. Sweeting, 22, had to qualify for the main draw. He arrived with a 1-4 mark and he improves to 2-4 by reaching the second round with a victory over wild card Taylor Dent. Meanwhile, Sam Querrey has found his stride lately. After falling in the second round of Wimbledon, Querrey returned to American soil. Since his return, Querrey has won 9 out of 11 matches, including the first round at Los Angeles. He finished runner-up in Newport and Indianapolis. Overall, he is 27-18 on the season and sporting a career high ranking of No.32. He enters the main draw as the third seed and given his performance lately he is a viable challenger for the title. Sweeting has nothing on Querrey; therefore, Querrey is the value play at -600.

Tennis Free Picks: Querrey in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line:

Chris Guccione +3 -115 +250 22½ O -120 U -120

Mardy Fish -3 -125 -400 22½ O -120 U -120

Match Time: 10:30 P.M. Eastern Time Thursday July 30 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: No.2 seed Mardy Fish at -400 is a good play but not a sure play. Fish is inconsistent and unpredictable. At any given moment, he can play scintillating tennis or he can be abysmal and implode on court. Therefore, the outcome of this match is correlated to which Fish makes his appearance tonight. That said, Fish owns a 2-0 edge over Guccione. He has home edge in this match, a 20-15 mark on the season and one title. On paper, Fish is the value play.

Tennis Free Picks: Fish in three sets