ATP Stuttgart Tennis Odds, Picks, Analysis: Best Bets For Bonzi-Rinderknech & Shapovalov-Otte (June 8)
Eurasia Sport Images/Getty. Pictured: Denis Shapovalov.
Rain may have taken its toll on play in the Netherlands in the early going this week, but Stuttgart hasn't has nearly as much of a problem in that regard.
The German event is set to get the second round underway and there are a pair of matches that catch the eye from the order of play.
Let's take a look at some of the action from Stuttgart.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing tennis matches.
Benjamin Bonzi (-155) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (+125)
5 a.m. ET
Early action from the grass court season has produced an abundance of long, tight sets across the men's fields. Such is to be expected on the fastest and slickest surface the sport is played on.
This all-French encounter should be no different, with both men holding an advantage in one way or another, both comfortable on the surface and both possessing strong serve plus forehand combos.
While Rinderknech has the more powerful serve, Bonzi is more athletic and a little more consistent from the baseline.
What really intrigues me here is that both men have brief but strong resumes on the grass. Each has a nice record, and both men qualified for Wimbledon last season.
Bonzi fell in the second round to Marin Cilic and Rinderknech played an epic five-setter with Oscar Otte, which he went on to lose 13-12.
As both players are solid on the surface and don't have a lot between them, the final hurdle to clear for me to lock in an over would be to see the points won behind each serve and the hold percentages for both.
Since last grass season, we've seen Rinderknech and Bonzi both win over 75% of first serve points, 50% behind their second serves and hold serve at 89% and 87%, respectively.
To me, this is an ideal candidate for a first set over position.
Pick: 1st set over 10.5 (+104 via DraftKings)
Denis Shapovalov (-280) vs. Oscar Otte(+205)
9:30 a.m. ET
Another match that looks primed to go over in a few respects features a pair of big servers and aggressive players in Denis Shapovalov and Otte.
This match checks all the same statistical boxes one would want to see, with both men actually holding at a higher rate than the first match and winning more points behind their first serves as well.
If you're not a fan of matches that a very serve-oriented, this may not be top of the list in terms of matches to tune into on Wednesday morning.
While Shapovalov does possess the athleticism and shotmaking to make things more entertaining, his lack of a game plan or ability to play with any margin for error from the baseline still makes finding breaks of serve tougher for him.
With Otte also able to serve bombs on the other side of the net, this match won't make that task any easier on the Canadian.
Another key piece here for me when looking at taking another set total is that the Otte backhand is also solid enough in case Shapovalov is able to get into some return points and crosscourt rallies. That would pit his forehand against Otte's backhand wing, and the German won't hate that.
Without the most tactical game plan and a big server on the other side of the net, backing Otte to keep things close here is the position to take in this matchup.
Pick: 1st set over 10.5 (+135 via DraftKings)
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