Besides the Australian Open, Youzhny didn't manage any great results so far and seems to be loosing his form from the start of the year. On the other side, Almagro manages to win 2 titles this year (on clay) beating big names like Carlos Moya and David Nalbandian.

The two players have never met before. The odds give the Russian as favourite to win this encounter but with so many surprises that we had so far here in Miami it won't be that much of a surprise it Almagro wins this one. The odds are certainly very good! So go with Almagro!!!

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As I said before the match against Wawrinka, I will back Soda until the end of the season. He seems a great player to me, and this is my bet of the year - Soda in top 5 until 2009.

He met 4 Fedex 4 times in his career, and lost all 4 games. Nevertheless, the Swiss had always problems with SOda, as 6 sets were decided at Tiebreak.

I will gladly take these 5.50 odds, even though 2 hours ago, bet-at-home had 6.20. GL

Juan Carlos Ferrero will face Tomas Berdych in the second round of the Miami Open, coming from the posture of the underdog.
The two players have met only one time in ATP, back in 2005 when the Czech managed to grab the victory in 3 disputed sets.
Now he is considered the favorite in the clash against ex world no 1, JC Ferrero, but I think the odds are rather high for the Spaniard, who proved many times to enjoy hard surfaces.
Odds over 2.50 worth trying here. GL

Beat the bookies!

Amelie Mauresmo is having the worst season in the last years, and said a few times that she is thinking about retirement. Today she will face much younger Chinese Peng, and the bookies underestimate Mauresmo, giving her only 60-65% chances of winning.

That is not correct in my opinion, as the French player has the background, experience and most important has the motivation these days, and I can't see her losing in the first round of the Miami Open.

The surface is a hard one, which can't be said that advantages any of the players, and the two ladies have never met before in the WTA Circuit.

Odds over 1.60 are really value IMO, and I will take it high stakes withouth hesitation. GL

Soderling will meet Wawrinka tonight in a match who can decide Roger Federer's opponent in next round - that is of course if the Swiss qualifies for the next round.

I have said it before, that I will back Soderling in every single match in 2008. He plays fantastic IMO, and 1.74 with Wawrinka is pure value.

I am also going to back the Swede 201 @ Tote for winning the Miami Open. And next round I should really enjoy having odds of 6-7 against Fedex. That will be a couple of hundreds in my pockets. GL

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Denver Nuggets (44-28) will host tonight the Golden State Warriors (44-27) in a match who could decide the 8th team from the Western COnference to join the play-offs - only half a game divide the two teams at this moment.

After winning the last games, the Nuggets are back in the race, and a victory tonight could take them on the 8th place, half a game ahead the Warriors. The bookmakers consider the Warriors as big underdogs with 7 points handicap - but I can't agree here. It will be a vital match for both teams, which will be decided by the team who can focus best, and even if AI & Melo are fabulous players, I am sure that Baron will master the game.

Regarding the outcome of tha match, the value stands on the Warriors for sure, and I will take them for ML. Another bet I have to take is the over here. Even though 240 is quite a high line set by the bookies, two of the worst defenses in the league will meet tonight. And on top of that, the both Davis and AI impose a fast tempo on their teams' game, so 60 points per quarter doesn't seem so high for me.

Again, the reason for my pick is straight simple - the Capitals are still fighting for a place in the playoffs, and they need the victory, while their opponents have lost any practical chance, and the level of motivation is no doubt inferior the the Capitals'.

With Ovechkin in great form, the Capitals managed to win their last four games, when Ovechkin scored 4 goals, and managed last night in the 4-2 victory at Nashvile to pass the 100 points bareer this season. The Capitals are now on the second position in Southeast Division, just 3 points behind Carolina, and on the 9th place in the Conference 2 points behind Philadelphia on the 8th place.

On the other hand, Chicago rest on the 13th place with only theoretical chances to reach the playoffs. But judging from their last results it is obvious that they have given up the fight, having lost 5 out of their last 6 games.

Bottom line, Washington needs the victory tonight, they have the better roster, they have higher motivation, and they will get it. GL

Beat the bookies!

The main reason for this pick is that the Nuggets are in a must-win situation. After last night when the Pistons had fun with the Nuggets in a 136-120 victory where the first 5 players averaged a little over 27 minutes on the field, now the Nuggets must come back and win this game. It is well known that Denver is quite average on the road, and everyone knows that Phili is playing great lately - they won 7 out of their last 8 games, and their opponents have been the Suns, the Spurs or the Pistons.
However, their playoff spot is secured, and their motivation should be less strong than the Nuggets'.
Denver kept close to Golden State last night, after the Warriors lost their game in Sacramento. However, tonight the Warriors will face the Clippers, so no chance for a surprise here. This means that if Denver fail to win in Phili, the Warriors will be 2 games ahead, and AI and Melo will watch the playoffs from the couch.
I do believe that Melo and AI can overclass any opponent, and even if Phili have great results lately, they still are an average team.

Naldanbian hasn't impressed on hard this season and the simple fact that Ferrero managed to beat him at the Australian Open in 3 sets (6-1 6-2 6-3) makes me bet on Ferrero. This week he had strong performances against Johanson (2 sets) and Ancic (3 sets) while Nalbandian struggled both with Gulbis (3 sets) and Stepanek (3 sets).

On hard Ferrero had a record of 3-1 against Nalbandian so i give him as a favourite to win this one.

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The rematch of the Australian Open semifinal - Nadal will be looking for revenge while Tsonga will be looking for confirmation.

After the Ozzie Open none of them really impressed. Still, in the first two matches at Indian Wells they both had strong performances winning in straight sets. They are both in good shape and this match promises to be a thriller.

It's 1-1 between the two on hard, but i think Tsonga will make it 2-1 for him.