The first rounds of the ATP 500 Japan and Beijing Opens have now concluded but not before I served a couple of aces of my own.
I hope you took my advice on David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet and if so you'll already be thinking about your next big serve.
In the early hours of Tuesday Spaniard Ferrer (2-5) romped home 6-4 6-1 against Denis Istomin in Beijing while French ace Gasquet (1-2) did likewise against Thiemo de Bakker, winning 6-3 7-6(2) in Tokyo.
Look to re-invest your winnings in Gasquet (3-10, Bodog, Coral) in his second-round clash with Russian Dmitry Tursunov (5-2, Bet365, SkyBet, Bluesquare and 888sport).
Gasquet is world No.30, an astonishing 402 places higher than one-time No.20 Tursunov, finding his way back in the game after ankle surgery in February.
Add another Frenchman, Gilles Simon (3-10, William Hills, Coral), in his Beijing clash with Michael Berrer of Germany (11-4, Bet365, Skybet, Bluesquare, 888sport, Ladbrokes). Simon is in a rich vein of form, having won another hard court event in Metz last month, and at world No.43 is eight places above the unfancied Berrer.
- A Gasquet/Simon double pays £16.90 for a £10 stake at Coral.
Take note of the start times because as a result of the time difference some of the matches are starting at 4.0 and 5.0am Wednesday.
