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It's another action-packed day down under as another 64 matches will be played to conclude the opening round of action at the Australian Open
Let's take a look at a pair of matches where there may be some money to be made backing the underdogs, including a match that includes American John Isner.
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Monday Australian Open Odds & Picks
John Isner (-125) vs. Adrian Mannarino (+105)
11:30 p.m. ET
It's a pretty straightforward scouting report when it comes to the big American in this one. Isner's game is predicated almost solely on his serve and ability to keep points short and sweet behind it, in addition to his ability to land said serves when he reaches tiebreaks.
His French opponent in this one has a bit more nuance to his game, and with a decent serve of his own and a preference for the quick courts that we see featured at Melbourne Park, he should be able to go tit-for-tat with the aging Isner.
Almost all of Isner's matches are close by virtue of his high hold rate and poor return game, but in this contest, if anyone is going to find a break of serve, it's far more likely to be Mannarino.
He's more athletic, has compact backswings to his groundstrokes (which is key when it comes to playing someone with an overwhelmingly powerful serve), and there is still the possibility that Isner is a tad rusty.
The 37-year old has played three matches since the US Open and is still coming off an injury. He hasn't really impressed in the few matches he's returned for, and for my money he simply can't be considered the favourite here.
Pick: Mannarino ML (+105 via DraftKings)
Laslo Djere (-215) vs. Zizou Bergs (+180)
7 p.m. ET
Another match where I have the dog being far more competitive than the odds would suggest is the battle between Laslo Djere and Zizou Bergs.
The young Belgian is probably undervalued in this matchup simply due to the lack of awareness within the betting markets regarding his abilities and game, as well as his slow start to the season.
Regarding the first few matches at the United Cup, it's been suggested the 23-year old may have been under the weather and dealing with that on court.
As for his game, he moves well, has pop in his serve and can rip his groundstrokes from the baseline.
He's been one of the more promising Challenger Tour prospects for quite some time, but has had to deal with injuries on a relatively consistent basis, and those have held him back.
As for Djere, the Serbian is primarily a clay-court player, who has had intermittent success on hard courts. The caveat? The two notable runs he's had on hard courts have both come the week prior to a hard-court Grand Slam taking place (Winston Salem last summer ahead of the US Open and last week in Auckland).
He possesses consistency, a decent first serve and strong inside-out forehand, but he leaves balls short too often and struggles to really put points away on hard courts.
While the younger of the two players in this one doesn't have much best-of-five experience and Djere has the tour-level pedigree going for him, I'm not sure he should be this much of a favorite.
Picks: Bergs ML (+180 via FanDuel)
