June 23rd, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-1-0 today. Not a terrible start, Nicolas Almagro came through in a pinch. Well, not so much as in a pinch as in an industrial vice grip. It got pretty ugly for the Angels real quick though. Pretty much a team effort in that loss as nobody had a particularly good game for L.A. So on to the picks, eh?

Recaps

Almagro Holds The Door Open In Third Tiebreak, Passes Through To Second Round

Nicolas Almagro d. Juan Monaco 6³-7⁷ 6⁷-7⁹ 7⁷-6⁵ 6-4 8-6

Juan Monaco was looking to become the first player this year to win a match from three straight tie breaks, but it was not to be as Nicolas Almagro kept his cool and won a single return point to take the third tie break. From there Almagro seemed to loosen up and limited the errors he had been making in the first half of the match, 63 all told. Both players dominated on their services with each taking fewer than one third of their receiving points, but in the end Almagro's power was enough to see him through.
Box Score

Palmer Picks Up First Loss Of Season As Rockies Roll To 17^th WIn In Last 18

Colorado Rockies 11 - 1 Los Angeles Angels

Wow, talk about a bad night for the Angels' pitching staff. Ineffective, through and through.

``The Angels tied a club record with six wild pitches -- all with Jeff Napoli behind the plate. One was by Rafael Rodriguez in the seventh inning that allowed Troy Tulowitzki to score, one by Jason Bulger in the ninth that enabled Ian Stewart to come home. Aaron Cook (7-3) allowed a run and three hits over seven innings and struck out four, helping send 30-year-old rookie Matt Palmer to his first loss of the season. The Rockies' right-hander became the franchise's all-time leader in victories with his 59th, surpassing Jason Jennings, and also broke Pedro Astacio's team record for road wins with his 30th."

Read more....Box Score

Picks
1) Andy Roddick (v. Jeremy Chardy) vs. Andy Murray (v. Robert Kendrick) - Murray loses fewer games
2) Christophe Rochus vs. Pablo Cuevas - Rochus
3) Italy vs. Belarus - 2 goals or fewer
4) Texas vs. LSU - LSU
5) New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
6) Chicago Cubs @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
7) Phoenix Mercury @ San Antonio Silver Stars - San Antonio
8) Minnesota Twins @ Milwaukee Brewers - Minnesota
9) Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago White Sox - Chicago
10) Tim Lincecum strikeouts vs. Oakland A's total hits - Lincecum strikeouts
11) San Diego Padres @ Seattle Mariners - Seattle

Previews

Andy Roddick (center) makes an acrobatic return at Wimbledon; (left top) #6 Andy Roddick faces #41 Jeremy Chardy; (right top) #3 Andy Murray will take on #76 Robert Kendrick in the following match.

1) The American, Andy Roddick, and the Scotsman, Robert Kendrick, will be taking on their respective first round opponents in the 2^nd and 3^rd matches on Centre Court this morning. Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the tournament has catapulted Andy Murray in the minds of some into a favorite to win the tournament. Some of that, however, may just be wishful thinking to have the native son be the victor though Murray has been to the final of the U.S. Open this year and has multiple Tour victories under his belt already.

Murray will be facing Robert Kendrick, who has achieved his highest ranking ever at World #76 this year and took Rafael Nadal to five sets in 2006 on these same courts. One has to wonder whether Kendrick simply caught Nadal on an off day, especially considering his 0-6 0-6 grass court loss to Murray later that year at Newport, Rhode Island. For one, Murray does not see that match against Nadal as a fluke and will not be taking his opponent lightly.

2009 Match Stats	Murray	Roddick
Break Points Converted	49%	37%
Return Games Won	38%	22%

Andy Roddick will be playing Jeremy Chardy in the second match on Centre Court. The two have not played one another in the past. Roddick is recovered from an ankle strain that forced him to retire in his semifinals match against James Blake at Queen's Club last week. Murray went on to win the tournament against Blake without dropping a single set. Murray has simply been the better tennis player this year between he and Roddick, though not by much. Aside from Kendrick's extraordinary performance against Nadal in 2006 there is not much evidence he will put up a tougher fight than Chardy. Taken together Murray would seem more likely to win in straight sets.

Follow The Match's Progress With Live Score Updates

Christophe Rochus (left) looks to make the second round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2000 while Pablo Cuevas (right) is making his first appearance at the tournament and on the grass surface.

2) This match may get off to a late start due to rain and the fact they're not playing on Centre Court which had a retractable roof installed recently. Christophe Rochus will be taking on Pablo Cuevas in the 3^rd match on Court 11 today. It will be Cuevas' first singles appearance at Wimbledon, while Rochus will be making his ninth singles entry to the grass court Grand Slam in his career. Rochus advanced to the second round in 2000 but has otherwise been bounced in the first round each year. Cuevas has yet to play Rochus in an ATP World Tour event, though he did defeat him in straight sets in a Challengers event in 2007 on clay. Remarkably, this is Cuevas' first competitive match on a grass surface though he did win his two qualifying matches at Wimbledon, dropping a set in each match. Rochus has some experience on grass with 23 career matches, though it has not been kind to him as he has a 3-20 record on grass. Rochus performed well at Roland Garros, reaching the third round, while Cuevas lost his third qualifying match there. Cuevas will be the lowest ranked first round opponent Rochus has ever faced at Wimbledon and I think he has a terrific chance of advancing. Cuevas is younger, however, and has shown more potential and may be moving up the standings here. I think Cuevas will have to wait just a bit longer however, and Rochus will take this match in a long hard fought duel.

Italy need only 1 point to secure their place in the semifinals while Belarus must decide whether to expose themselves in an attempt to win by 3 goals or simply play solid football and hope the result comes from that.

3) A quick look at the standings of the UEFA Under 21 Championship shows Italy in first place in Group A with four points and Belarus rounding out the bottom with 1 point. The only hope for Belarus to advance to the semifinals is if Serbia and Sweden tie in their match today and even then Belarus would need to win by three goals in which case Sweden and Belarus would advance as Italy would be the odd side out on goal differential at -2.

Of course, when Belarus tried to score and play an attacking style against Sweden they were abused 5-1 with Marcus Berg scoring a hat trick. It was only when they played more cautiously, against Serbia, that they achieved a positive result, a 0-0 draw. As much as Belarus may like to advance to the semifinals in this tournament I think they will focus more on playing good football and putting forth a respectable effort. They will play more defensively and rely on their skill to lead to goals rather than forcing the issue with an offensive formation. As for Italy, they only need to draw in order to secure their place in the semi-finals. They will have to deal with the suspension of Mario Balotelli who picked up a straight red card in their match against Sweden. Rather than change his 4-3-3 formation Italy coach Pierluigi Casiraghi is likely to move Ignazio Abate up into Balotelli's spot to pair with Giovinco and Acquafresca. Here are the possible lineups for each side --

Italy Possible Starting XI – (4-3-3): Consigli; Motta, Andreolli, Bocchetti, Criscito; De Ceglie, Marchisio, Dessena; Abate, Acquafresca, Giovinco

Possible Starting XI – (4-2-3-1): Chesnovsky; Shitov, Verkovtsov, Martynovich, Osipovich; Afansanyiev, Volodko; Kislyak, Kovel, Kryvets; Yurchenko

Coverage Of The Match On UEFA.com
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