Take Blake to get the better of Bellucci; TENNIS;Sports
Byline: Dave Horgan
WTA KREMLIN CUP Eurosport, 10am FORMER top-ten star James Blake has had a shocking time of it in 2010, but after a decent showing in New York last month he should be backed to get the better of Tomasz Bellucci in Stockholm today, writes Dave Horgan.
The American is a two-time champion in the Swedish capital having won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, and having also reached thesemi-finals in 2007, he can boast a record of 13 wins from 14 outings at the venue.
Bellucci may also be able to point to success at the Kungliga Tennishallen having reached the semi-finals 12 months ago, but he remainsa player most likely to produce his best tennis on slow courts and has won just three of his last nine main tour matches.
In the Kremlin Cup, Jeremy Chardy and Denis Istomin will tempt many, but they are probably best ignored given the opposition.
First-round foes, Mikhail Kukushkin and Ilya Marchenko, both came through qualifying to reach the semi-finals in Moscow 12 months ago and they clearly relish the conditions.
Recommendation J Blake 1pt 5-4 Bet365, Stan James
CAPTION(S):
James Blake has excellent form in the Stockholm Open
