ATP Brisbane 2nd Round/ATP Doha Quarters

The upsets came thick and fast yesterday with Aussie teenager Alex de Minaur stealing the show with his won over Milos Raonic. It didn’t stop there though with former junior number 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas taking down Gasquet in Doha. The Wolf said we will be hearing more about him in 2018 but it could happen sooner rather than later.

ATP Brisbane Feature Previews

Kyle Edmund v Hyeon ChungIt’s been a quick rise to the top for Hyeon Chung who put himself on the map during the clay court season last year. He made the quarters in Barcelona as a qualifier and the semi’s in Munich the following week before a quarter final run in Lyon. He then pushed Nishikori to 5 sets in the 3rd round at Rolland Garros which meant he no longer needed to go through the qualifiers. He had his troubles on the faster surfaces later in the year but got it together to take out the inaugural ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan. They are separated by just a year in terms of age but The Wolf says there is a significant gap between them physically. Edmund’s strength and power was on full display against Shapovalov and this surface suits his game far more than the Koreans. The Wolf has him rated as the favourite and says the bookies have got this one wrong.
Best Bet: Edmund WIN ($2.10)

Grigor Dimitrov v John MillmanDimitrov will look to start 2018 exactly how he ended 2017 – by winning. He claimed four titles last season including the Cincinnati Masters and ATP Tour Finals. He is the defending champ here and along with Alexander Zverev was one of a select few who took advantage of the absence of Murray, Djokovic, Wawrinka and co. He beat a quality field en route to the title here a year ago including Steve Johnson, Thiem, Raonic and Nishikori. This is a huge step up for Millman but the local boy is riding the wave after having a successful 2017 on the Challenger Tour. He was super aggressive in his opening match against Polansky and won a remarkable 83% of points behind his second serve. That will not be happening against Dimitrov and The Wolf believes that the Bulgarian could be a little slow to get going in his season debut. Millman is effective at trading blows from the baseline and his ability to get to the net and finish points adds a different dimension to this encounter. The Aussie underdogs have bee money with the handicap start all week log and we will stick with it.
Best Bet: Millman +4.5 ($1.73)