SAP Open 2nd Rd Betting: Berdych and Haas bid for a spot in the quarter

San Jose, California –Tommy Haas and Tomas Berdych are set to bid for a spot in the SAP Open quarters on Wednesday afternoon at San Jose. The No.4 and No.5 seeds respectively are heavily favoured in the market over their opposites, Denis Istomin and Jarkko Nieminen. Here is a look at the action currently trading at BetOnline Sportsbook.

Tennis Betting Line:

Denis Istomin +4 -120 +325 21½ O -125 U -115
Tommy Haas -4 -120 -550 21½ O -125 U -115

Match Time: Not Before 4:15 PM Eastern time Wednesday February 10, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Newly minted, American citizen Tommy Haas is set to take on Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the second round. Haas, a veteran at 31-years of age, is holding steady in the top 20, a remarkable feat considering the depth in the men’s game today and the whole slew of young guns making noise on the ATP Tour. Ranked at world No.17 Haas is favoured to win his first-ever encounter against Istomin, 23, at -550. Istomin, weighs in at No.96 and carries a +325 price for the outright win –what would be a significant upset.

Get in on the action now bet on SAP Open > > SIGN UP HERE

Haas is appearing in his second tournament of the season after a third round exit at the Aussie Open, lost to Jo Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. Ahead of his third round encounter, Haas took out Simon Greul and Janko Tipsarevic. He entered San Jose with a 2-1 mark on the season and improved to 3-1 with an opening round victory over wild card Devin Britton 6-4, 7-6(3). Istomin improved to 3-3 on the season when he beat wild card Ryan Harrison in the first round 6-2, 7-5.

What is obvious is at this stage of Haas’s career is that wins don’t always come easy but he is not one to shirk from grinding through his matches. He has shown he can still beat many of the young players in the game and that makes him a good play. Istomin is talented and has the ability to beat Haas, he has yet to prove he can though, making him a true long shot.

Tennis Free Picks: Haas in three sets

Tennis Betting Line:

Jarkko Nieminen +4 -105 +250 22 O -110 U -130
Tomas Berdych -4 -135 -400 22 O -110 U -130

Match Time: Not Before 5:00 PM Eastern time Wednesday February 10, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Czech Tomas Berdych takes a convincing 3-0 head-to-head edge over Finish Jarkko Nieminen into their second round encounter. Berdych, 24, currently weights in at No.23 in the world. Many believe he should be ranked better, owing to his organic talent. Problem is he is too inconsistent and streaky a player to maintain a ranking in the top 20, never mind in the top 10 where these experts would have him reside.

Nieminen, 28, once ranked as high as No.13, but now has dropped off the radar. He currently weight in at No.129. Appearing in his fourth main draw event, Nieminen is yet to put together a winning streak. He crashed in the first rounds of both Brisbane and Johannesburg and his only match win prior to San Jose came in the first round of the Aussie Open.

Speaking of his first round win at the SAP Open it was hard fought, going the distance. He came back from a set down to beat wildcard Lars Poerschke 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Berdych was similarly unconvincing for all his top 30 pretensions, needing three sets to take out American Wayne Odesnik, ranked beyond the top 100, 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5.

Berdych enters this match as the -400 favourite in the market but his tendency to mentally checkout in matches makes him an unsure favourite to back. Especially, when so pricey. Nieminen is also inconsistent, making him an unlikely underdog to back at +250. What this says to me is this match won’t be pretty. Expect unbelievable momentum shifts and three sets for sure. The match is on Berdych’s racquet in the end and he should win but I won’t be surprised if Nieminen edges him out.

Tennis Free Picks: Berdych in three sets