Winston Salem Open Preview: Isner to defend his crown

"I’m happy to take Isner as my main wager this week and despite his awful efforts in Toronto and Cincy I wouldn’t count out Dolgopolov at a price that could look very big if – and it’s a big if – he can be bothered this week."

In form Sean Calvert is looking for his fourth winning week in succession, and he believes that defending champion John Isner is the man to be on at the Winston Salem Open...

Roger Federer's title success in Cincinnati was the third winning selection in a row for this column and with the US Open a little over a week away there's one final chance for the players to get some hard court match play under their belts.

This week's tournament is the Winston Salem Open, an ATP 250 event that took over last year from New Haven, which became a WTA tournament to cut a long story short.

John Isner won the inaugural event last year and is back to defend his title in a field that looks a little stronger than usual and that has benefited from the 2012 London Olympics.

Usually this event attracts mainly lower ranked players and the odd top-20 or top-10 player, but this year we've got three top-10 stars plus the likes of Andy Roddick, Alex Dolgopolov, David Nalbandian, Sam Querrey and Feliciano Lopez.

So it's a very strong field for a 250 event and it's headed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Isner.

These guys are looking for hard court match practice after squeezing the Olympics into their schedules and Tsonga in particular has played just one match on a hard court since the spring.

The Frenchman, who missed Cincinnati citing a knee injury caused by him running into a fire hydrant, is in the top half of the draw and tournament favourite at around 4.33n/a.

Joining the world number six in the top half are Marcos Baghdatis, Kevin Anderson, Ryan Harrison, Marcel Granollers, Isner, Jurgen Melzer, Viktor Troicki and Julien Benneteau to name a few.

The opposite half of the draw sees Berdych, Roddick, Querrey, Nalbandian, Dolgopolov, Lopez, Nikolay Davydenko, Denis Istomin and Jarkko Nieminen as the leading lights.

Tsonga and Isner both missed Cincy with injury, as did Roddick, and Dolgopolov may as well have done, as he has been little short of a disgrace in the two matches he's turned up for since winning Washington. That said, he'll probably go and win the tournament this week - he's that kind of player.

I'm not at all convinced that the big names are overly fussed about actually winning this event, but Isner may be the exception as an American at home and with a title to defend.

He's been drawn in a quarter with Benneteau, who played nine matches here in 2011 reaching the final as a qualifier, before losing in that final to Isner.

The big man's main obstacle could come in the quarter finals in the form of Jurgen Melzer, who has beaten him on both occasions that they've played.

The Austrian's form has tailed off alarmingly this year though and since winning Memphis in the spring he's compiled a 5-14 record and he's won just a single match on outdoor hard in 2012.

So, Isner should emerge from that section to face most likely Tsonga, who has a tricky first round clash with either Baghdatis or Thomaz Bellucci and then has perhaps the out of form Anderson to get past first.

The bottom half is the place to look for value, with Querrey at around 19.018/1, Lopez at 50.049/1, Nalbandian at 34.033/1, Dolgopolov at 20.019/1 all in the same quarter and in with chances of making at least the semis.

The final quarter should see Berdych prevail over Roddick, Blake, Istomin, Nieminen and Bogomolov Jr, but he's not a bet for me at the moment with confidence low and with only seven titles to his name in his career so far - a poor return for someone of his ability.

I'm happy to take Isner as my main wager this week and despite his awful efforts in Toronto and Cincy I wouldn't count out Dolgopolov at a price that could look very big if - and it's a big if - he can be bothered this week.

Recommended Bets

Back Isner at 5.59/2
Back Dolgopolov at 20.019/1

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Cheltenham Festival 2011: Binocular to defend Champion Hurdle crown?

The Cheltenham Festival / Adam Brookes / 01 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

Binocular has more than just Peddlers Cross to worry about in the Champion Hurdle.

"Thousand Stars needs to step up a fair deal to figure here, but he has improved with every run this season and it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see him run into a place."

With only two weeks to the day before the cream of the hurdling crop navigate their way around Prestbury Park, before rising to the top of that famous hill, the shape of the race is now clearly defined, and it's multidimensional according to Timeform's Adam Brookes.

Binocular, who was in danger of becoming a Cheltenham nearly-horse before his Champion Hurdle win last year, is attempting to bestow his owner JP McManus with the honour of being the outright leading owner in the race, as the Irishman currently sits on four wins (guess who provided the other three?) with Dorothy Paget, best known as owner of Golden Miller, but who also had dual Champion winner Insurance, as well as Solford and Distel, running in her blue and yellow silks.

Similarly, Binocular's trainer Nicky Henderson is currently joint-leading trainer in the race with Peter Easterby, with five wins apiece, and he will be very much looking to the horse to take his overall tally of Festival wins closer to Fulke Walwyn's haul of 40 victories, which Henderson currently sits just three behind.

Of the horse himself, he famously drifted out to the Betfair ceiling price of 999/1 in the lead-up to last year's race before returning at [12.5] but is likely to be a third of that price this time after winning two of his three races so far this season. Admittedly, his performance last time at Sandown was well below his best form, but it's interesting to note that he recorded an almost identical figure to the one he achieved in the corresponding race last year prior to winning at Cheltenham, and he still looks to have a strong chance of winning his second Champion Hurdle, at what will be his fourth consecutive Festival.

Ireland are looking to regain the race after dominating from 2004 through 2007, courtesy of a Hardy Eustace double and wins from Brave Inca and Sublimity - Hurricane Fly is most certainly their standout representative this year.

Hurricane Fly hasn't raced outside of Ireland since three runs as a juvenile in France and many of his layers will be clinging onto the belief that he won't be the same when galloping on British soil, especially when asked to climb that formidable Cheltenham hill. However, he stayed on well over two and a half miles when first seen this season and his excellent turn of foot is a big asset.

Winner of the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse in December, Hurricane Fly is seeking to emulate the mighty Istabraq (he was the answer to the question posed earlier, by the way) in winning that race before taking the Champion in the same season and, on form, he has every chance doing so. He has also landed the December Festival Hurdle and Irish Champion Hurdle this season, just as Brave Inca had in 2006.

Menorah, winner of last season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle and unbeaten in three runs at Cheltenham, is in with the big boys this year.

Although his last performance, when winning the International Hurdle, wasn't quite as good as his Greatwood win from a ratings point of view, it was certainly visually very impressive, as an electric turn of foot suddenly allowed him to slip in between the toiling Cue Card and Silviniaco Conti before winning comfortably. What's more, the last horse to win that event before emerging victorious from the Champion Hurdle in the same season was his erstwhile stablemate Rooster Booster, who won both as a nine year old in 2003, and there's no doubt that Menorah is a much classier than Rooster Booster was at his age.

Oscar Whisky didn't have much to beat last time in the Welsh Champion Hurdle but still almost matched the very smart rating he posted at Cheltenham on his penultimate start. His only defeat to date came at last year's Festival, when fourth to Menorah in the Supreme Novices', and he's now a very real danger to both that rival and the rest of the field, still open to improvement.

Alan King and Robert Thornton won this race with Triumph Hurdle winner Katchit in 2008 and are attempting to add their name to the Roll of Honour once more with one-time Triumph favourite Mille Chief. A setback ruled him out of that target last year, but he has produced some impressive efforts since and he's still the youngest of the main protagonists at five, the same age as Katchit was three years ago.

Although Mille Chief wasn't as impressive as may have been anticipated last time, the form has since been franked with second-placed Celestial Halo, who gave him 4 lb, going in at Fontwell since. Mille Chief's best performance to date was the very smart win in the 32Red Handicap Hurdle at Sandown on his penultimate start but, in truth, he still needs to step up to figure in the Champion.

Like Mille Chief, Peddlers Cross has also got to up his game at Cheltenham, but he is at least open to improvement. That said, if he doesn't have the added assistance of his regular partner Jason Maguire on board, it's going to be very difficult for him, and traditionally the Fighting Fifth hasn't proved the most reliable gauge to finding the Champion Hurdle winner, for all that Punjabi won both races in 2008/2009.

Dunguib is currently way off the pace of what the main protagonists have achieved on form, but his performance last time was his best effort to date and he's still reasonably hard to get to grips with as, bar his keen-going sixth in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle last season, he is yet to be tested against genuine Champion contenders. He famously disappointed when a heavily-backed third in the aforementioned Supreme Novices' last season, but one who came to the boil at exactly the right time was Thousand Stars, winner of the County Hurdle.

Thousand Stars needs to step up a fair deal to figure here, but he has improved with every run this season and it wouldn't be the biggest shock to see him run into a place. That said, on both of his two best runs to date, he has still found Hurricane Fly too good.

Of those further down the list, Khyber Kim, a high-class hurdler at best, is capable of running a big race on a going-day, but this year's renewal does look a stronger event than the one he finished second in last year. However, for those who like a tickle on an outsider, he could be your one, as you only have to go back to 2009 to find a generous-priced winner - the aforementioned Punjabi at 22/1.

Zaynar is the final horse who deserves consideration at this stage as he did finish third last year, but connections are still unsure of whether to go for the Champion or World Hurdle. On his very best form he has a slim chance of sneaking into the frame again, but he hasn't quite shown enough this year to warrant anything more than a minor mention.

With only two weeks to the day before the cream of the hurdling crop navigate their way around Prestbury Park, before rising to the top of that famous hill, the shape of the race is now clearly defined, and it's multidimensional according to Timeform's Adam Brookes....

Timeform's Martin Dixon previews what might be in store for AP McCoy at Cheltenham 2011......

Whilst you may not be able to see past Binocular winning his second Champion Hurdle, or superstar stayer Big Buck's dominating once again in the World Hurdle, you may have also decided that the current odds on offer are too skinny for you to get involved. Well, help is on hand in the shape of the Betfair Cheltenham Specials markets....

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