ATP Sydney/ATP Auckland: 2nd Round

Damir Dzumhur v Alex De MinaurThe Wolf is the first to admit that he may have to start giving Aussie teenager Alex de Minaur a bit more credit. Over the last 10 days he has beaten Steve Johnson, Raonic and Verdasco – men with respective career high ranks of 21, 3 and 7. More impressive is the fact that he has won all of those matches in straight sets. His consistency from the back of the court and ability to turn defence into attack is reminiscent of the man who is guiding him – none other than Lleyton Hewitt. His clash against Dzumhur is set to be a real battle. Like de Minaur, the Bosnian loves to trade blows from the baseline and he was one of the form players late last year with title winning runs in St Petersburg and Moscow. The points will be long and grueling. Wolfy says we will be going the distance.  
Best Bet: Over 22.5 games ($1.80)

Fabio Fognini v Alexandr DolgopolovThe H2H record in this one is far too lob sided to ignore. Dolgopolov holds a 5-1 advantage which includes wins in the last 5 meetings and a 3-1 record on Fognini’s more fancied surface. The Ukranian has won both of their hard court encounters in straight sets and is clearly a bad matchup for the Italian. This will also be Fognini’s first match on tour this season while Dolgopolov has hit the ground running. He posted multiple wins in Brisbane last week before going down to eventual winner Kyrgios in the quarters and just beat two time former Sydney champion, Viktor Troicki, in the opening round. He is hitting the ball clean out of the middle of the racquet and should be far shorter than the price suggests.
Best Bet: Dolgopolov WIN ($1.53)

ATP Auckland Feature Previews

Jack Sock v Peter GojowczykPeter Gojowczyk should change his name to ‘The Moneymaker’. He continues do deliver for The Wolfpack early in 2018 and is again getting very little respect against a more fancied opponent. Jack Sock stormed to his maiden Masters 1000 title in Paris but his form was patchy in Perth last week for the Hopman Cup. He will get no free points out of Gojowczyk and we have seen the German break opponents serve with east in 2018. He has generated multiple breaks of serve in all 4 of his matches this season including his loss to Monfils in Doha. If the Sock serve waivers, Gojowczyk will pounce.
Best Bet: Gojowczyk +2.5 ($2.00)

Denis Shapovalov v Juan Martin Del PotroWe saw Del Potro return to form in 2017 and we may very well see him climb back into the top 5 if he can avoid injury. He was starting to hit through his backhand with more regularity late last season and it is great news for both the Argentine and the world of tennis. He takes on a man of the future. Shapovalov beat Del Potro at the Montreal Masters – a run to the semi’s which will not be forgotten anytime soon. Shapovalov was able to win a massive 46% on return, unheard of against the Del Potro serve. He generated 4 breaks of serve and was hitting everything out of the middle. It is unlikely that he will repeat that performance but with the Argentine taking the court for the first time this year he could be vulnerable. The Overs shapes as the best play.
Best Bet: Over 22.5 games ($1.73)