Shanghai Masters: 1st & 2nd Round

The action continues in Shanghai with 1st and 2nd round matches today. Kyrgios and Cilic will make their first appearance of the week while Del Potro and Gasquet will be backing up after tough 3 set wins.

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Kevin Anderson v Adrian MannarinoThe fact that this is a 1st round matchup is testament to the quality of Masters 1000 events. Both men are in the best form of their career having made multiples finals this year. Mannarino continues to grind his way past opponents but Anderson’s style will make it very tough for him to do so. Anderson will serve bug but it is his ability to close the net which has The Wolf very worried for the Frenchman. Anderson will pin his opponent well behind the baseline and it will make it close to impossible to hit past him at the net. With Mannarino also backing up after a long week he will struggle if this one goes the distance.
Best Bet: Sets Anderson 2-0 ($2.05)

Steve Johnson v Nick KyrgiosThis will be the first meeting between the pair and as is the case in most of the Aussie’s matches the outcome will be on his racquet… or on his mind. He went through a complete meltdown against Rafa in the final of Beijing but lets not forget how well he played to get there. He looked comfortable in the doubles yesterday when he partnered Lucas Pouille to victory. If Kyrgios is on this one will be a whitewash but The Wolf says to tread carefully. We will back him to get it done but we will keep our bet sizes nice and small.
Best Bet: Kyrgios -3.5 ($1.91)

Richard Gasquet v Hyeon ChungGasquet recovered after losing the opening set to cover the handicap with ease yesterday. The Wolf says we will get right around him again with Hyeon Chung getting over-valued following his win over Bautista-Agut. The Wolf is shocked to see the market set at virtually a coin flip and says Gasquet should be paying no more than $1.50! Chung has had most of his success on clay and is far from being one of the heaviest ball strikers on tour. He will look to hit as many forehands as possible but Gasquest has the ability to put it in any corner of the court and do so off both wings. The price is right and we will take full advantage.
Best Bet: Gasquet WIN ($1.80)

Juan Martin Del Potro v Andrey RublevRublev is as hot and cold as they come and you can see it in his set scores. He is a genuine hit and miss player with 12 of his last 16 sets decided by at least a double break margin! It leaves his vulnerable when it comes to handicap betting and with Del Potro one of the dominant servers on tour The Wolf says to back the Argentine. Rublev could win a set and still come up well short. Del Potro will give him very little and when frustration grows we will see Rublev spray error after error. We backed against Del Potro in the handicap yesterday but today he will flip the script.
Best Bet: Del Potro -3.5 ($1.80)