Will tennis outsider cure Wizard's bad luck?

By John Hill on October 22, 2008 1:00 AM |

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Nigel Seeley

Wizard of Odds Nigel Seeley looks at the week's bets

Place Your Bets followers will be pleased to hear I’m off on holiday next week to recharge my very rusty batteries.

The bad luck we have encountered over the last few weeks has been incredible and for the first time in almost a year we find ourselves with a negative balance.

While it’s not all gloom and doom, as we have a very nice portfolio of ante-post bets which look very tasty, it’s still alarming. But rest assured I have put more effort in than ever to find some very wagers to get us back in the black by the end of the week.

Monday sees the start of the final tennis Masters event in Paris. At the end of a gruelling season shocks are always aplenty and this week I think the usual trend will continue in the French capital.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are clear in the world rankings and current form, but all four have already qualified for the end of season Masters Cup, where the big bucks are.

So, this week I predict a big showing from players who need to reach the later stages to gain their place in Shanghai and the man to be on is Argentinan Juan Martin del Potro at a massive 66/1 (each-way).

The Argentine may not be a household name yet, but the 20-year-old has already broken into the World’s top 10 and sits in the final eighth position in the champions race.

With four titles this season and quarter-final apperances in the US Open and last week’s Madrid Masters he is a player on the up. In fact, the man who stopped him on both occasions was Roger Federer and with the big guns possibly taking this tournament lightly del Potro could capitalise on any weakness.

Another player who also needs a big performance for the same reasons is Andy Roddick.

The American No.1 isn’t the force on the men’s circuit he was a few years ago but certainly when he brings his A-game to the court his serve can trouble anybody especially on the fast courts of Paris, where big servers have always performed well. At 66/1 he again offers great each-way value.

The best bet on the Premier League fixtures this weekend is West Brom to beat Hull City at the Hawthorns at a massive 6/4.

Both have taken the Premier League by storm, particularly Hull who sit in a lofty third in the table. Last week they were totally outplayed by West Ham, who failed to score, while against Arsenal and Tottenham they were also outplayed for long periods. I expect the Hull bubble to burst and it starts to deflate on Saturday.

RUNNING TOTAL –£58.75

SUGGESTED BETS
£5 E/W Juan Del Potro & Andy Roddick both @ 66/1 (Paris Masters Tennis)
£30 West Brom to beat Hull @ 6/4