3 Plays for tonight:

ATP Brisbane - Gael Monfils vs Radek Stepanek

The first semi final of the day looks to be the closest one on paper, however I don't believe it will be as close as the odds may suggest. Both players have a similar ranking, however the matchup is clearly favorable to Monfils, who won't most likely have a lot of problems in going into the final of this tournament.

Gael Monfils is surely having a tough week, as he dropped a set in every match he has played this week. However, playing Taylor Dent, Florent Serra and James Blake isn't easy, but still Monfils was still able to overcome all three players and get into today's match. Notice that Monfils dropped the first set on his last two matches and came back to win them, a clear proof of how motivated the French player is to do well this week. Monfils played these three matches in consecutive days, but now he had one day to rest and so, he should be all right to play today's match, even though he complained a bit with a shoulder injury during his match against Blake.

On the other side, Radek Stepanek also struggled in order to get into today's match, however one thing is to struggle against Blake or Dent and other completely different thing is to be down a set and a break to Oleksandr Dolgopolov. Stepanek had a much easier draw this week, as he faced three players ranked 306, 131 and 105 in the world and now he will face a Top 15 player, something which will cause the Czech player to struggle, as difference of difficulty will be so huge that Stepanek will struggle in getting into the correct rhythm right at the beginning of the match. Monfils leads the head to head by 3-1 with his only loss being on a retirement, so it's more than obvious that the French player will his amazing defensive and counter punching skills are a terrible matchup for the serve & volleyer Stepanek. I expect Monfils to show on court his superiority on paper and so, I'm taking him to win in here.

Pick: 1 unit (Single Dime) on Gael Monfils ML @ -145 The Greek


WTA Auckland - Flavia Pennetta vs Yanina Wickmayer

These two players have been unstoppable this week and they are yet to drop a set this week. This match really promises to be right, however I believe Pennetta is at least still one level above Wickmayer and with the win really making the players struggle, the most consistent Italian should get a clear upperhand in here.

Flavia Pennetta is yet to allow one of her opponents to win more than 4 games in a set this week and she is actually allowing her opponents to win an average of 2 games per set, something absolutely remarkable. Pennetta is already playing at her best and when she is in such form, she is a clear Top 10 player on hardcourt, as we have seen last Summer. She can serve well, her baseline accuracy his fantastic and she can really construct the point really well, using her underrated aggression to finish some points rather quickly. That's exactly what she did against Schiavone yesterday and while today she will have to change tactics to face the powerful Wickmayer, Pennetta is smart and experienced enough to do that and I expect the Italian player to use her amazing counter punching game to make the Belgian player struggle a lot today.

Yanina Wickmayer is really confirmed her breakthrough in last year's US Open, however she is still a work in progress and she showed yesterday that she struggles while facing great defensive players. She may have defeated Peer by 6-4 7-5, but Peer was up 3-0 in the second set and if it wasn't for Peer's double faults at terrible moments and poor play at the most important parts of the game, the match would have gone to a third set and then, everything could have happened. The problem for Wickmayer is that Pennetta defends as well as Peer and she can really step it up in the important points, besides the fact that her forehand isn't an easy target like Peer's poor forehand is for an aggressive player. Even though Wickmayer defeated Pennetta on indoors last fall, I expect Pennetta to get a comfortable revenge over Wickmayer, who will continue struggling against defensive players, like it was clearly visible for example on her semi final loss against Wozniacki in the US Open. Pennetta is the overall better player of the two and I expect her to have a comfortable win today, covering the short spread in that way. Take Pennetta minus the games in here.

Pick: 1 unit (Single Dime) on Flavia Pennetta (-2,5 Games) @ -122 5Dimes



WTA Brisbane - Kim Clijsters vs Justine Henin

It may sound really dangerous to back Clijsters at such relatively short odds, however I don't believe it will be possible for Henin to win this match, as she is still a bit far from her best, while Clijsters has already showed this week that she is already close to her US Open form.

Kim Clijsters really impressed this week, barely a distraction in the second set against Safarova, something won't surely happen on such an important match like this one. Clijsters is in my opinion the best hardcourt player in the world right now and the main favorite to win the Australian Open. She has the full package to do great on this surface, with a good serve, an amazing defensive game and a great ability to always hit the ball with depth and with the necessary aggression to go for the winners when it is necessary. She has already defeated all kinds of players since her comeback and now that she is already playing her fifth tournament since her comeback, I believe Clijsters has now shaken of all the rustiness she had due to her "retirement" and she is now playing as good as she has ever played on her "first career".

I just can't say the same about Justine Henin. She did an amazing job during the whole week and she is now in the final of her first tournament back. But let's face it. As long as Czink played extremely well, Henin should never in theory need a third set tie-break to beat a non-top player on hardcourt, which is a clear proof that she is still rusty, which is obviously normal after a break of 15 months from tennis. Her ground strokes are still a bit inconsistent, her serve is yet to remain its normal rhythm and even her usually amazing net game is still yet to have regained its usual touch. Everything will go back to its normal place, but time and especially match practice will be needed before it happened. Also Clijsters lost to a slumping Safina and Jankovic two weeks before winning the US Open and Henin will also need time before coming back to the real top notch level.

I expect Clijsters to be all over Henin's inconsistent serve and also be more consistent on the baseline. Clijsters is now at her best level and fully confident of her game, while Henin is still trying to re-discover her game and obviously struggling in some departments. Henin was fantastic is how well she played this week, considering her long break from tennis, but beating an in-form reigning US Open champion on her first tournament back is just way too much for Henin. I believe Clijsters will pick up the win in here and so, I'm taking her to win this tournament of Brisbane.

Pick: 1 unit (Single Dime) on Kim Clijsters ML @ -143 on 5Dimes