Sporting Selections May 04

Archived results for May 2004

Date & Time
of entry

Button to have podium finish

Button and BAR go from strength to strength. The performance in Monaco was fantastic for such a young combination and back on a track more suited to them we take the young Brit to secure another top 3 place.

Bjorkmanto bt Enqvist

Strange to see that this is not a pick match. Neither particularly like the surface but of the two, it is Bjorkman to our eyes that can play on it better. Take the head to head into consideration and we think the books have made a mistake.

C.Rochus to bt A Costa

Despite this being best of five and probably playing into the veteran Costa's hands, we must bet Rochus. They have met twice before with the little Belgian yet to lose, including recently in Valencia on clay. Costa was not 100% fit in Dusseldorf and Rochus is sure to exploit any frailties.

Lapentti to bt Lopez

Very difficult to catch Lapentti right these last few years. He does raise his game for the Slams and the odd Masters Series event and although his claycourt form recently is nothing to shout about, he remains a better player on it than Lopez. Wrong favourite in our opinion

Fisichela points finish

In what is the toughest race on the Grand Prix circuit, we look for drivers with track experience and results. Current form is a bonus. Fisichella has 2 podium finishes in last 7 yrs here and his results in the Sauber have improved race by race in 2004.

Trulli to set fastest qualifying time

Buoyed by his excellent 3rd in Barcelona, we will take the Renault of Trulli to set the standard on Saturday. He also has an excellent track record. 2nd row last year and front row in 2000. Not sure he can hold on to win the race but over one lap, this price is too big.

Stepanek to bt Kiefer

Strange to see Kiefer favourite here. Stepanek to our eyes is the more gifted on a heavy clay surface and after losing on Monday, he will be keen to win a tie for his country. Kiefer is never one to trust under pressure at the best of times, more so at home.

Eurovision Song Contest

Having listened to the qualifiers last night our belief that Belgium have the right sort of record to win has increased. The effort from pre-tournament favourites Greece was particularly poor and only Ukraine and Cyprus sounded like they will compete on Saturday

Plenty of history between these two although with Haas' injuries, it has been awhile since they last met. To our memory Hewitt always got inside the Germans head and despite his obvious natural talent, we do not think Haas' game is quite ready to face Hewitt. Wrong fav with the books in our opinion.

Spadea the type of player to frustrate Haas and we make this near 50/50. Haas has made great strides to regain his 2001 form but in last 2 matches has shown he has still a fair way to go. Spadea playing very solid tennis for a while now.

Sato to gain podium finish

We will take a chance that Sato can hold his form for the entire race. He has been very quick all weekend and this price does not reflect the BAR team progress. (What price Button if he were 3rd on grid?)

Moya was awesome in beating Pavel. He was also pedestrian in beating Karlovic. These two fought out a close one in Buenos Aires and this price is too big. Add in the Davis Cup clash from 2003 when Zabaleta was 2 sets up only to injure himself and we have the makings of a battle today.

Novak has not played to his usual consistent level this year but there were signs late on v Blake that he is getting back to some form. On clay we make him a favourite over the one dimensional Mirnyi.

The Croat has a fair record here and also a positive head to head record v Moya. He has taken out Ferrero and Coria in the last two Rome Masters Series and we feel he can complete the high profile treble. The price is way too high.