The SAP Open is a tournament with a rich tradition with previous winners such as Ashe, Laver, Connors, Sampras and Agassi. There are some big hitters in this years draw and plenty of American interest. Two time defending champion Milos Raonic has a perfect record at this event and is the favourite to regain his title. He will have a tough job defending his crown however, with stars such as John Isner and Tommy Haas in the field, along with young American Ryan Harrison.
Raonic is the biggest challenge for everyone in the field with his monstrous serve so tough to handle indoors. His ground strokes are also beneficial on this surface and it will take a big effort for anyone to take the crown off the Canadian. American Sam Querrey has got similar weapons at his disposal but not at the same standard. Querrey has got the ability to beat anybody indoors, especially in America but I don't think he has the variety in his game to beat someone like Raonic.
Ryan Harrison hits a flat enough ball to cause players problems this week. I think he could prosper with home advantage bu tan early clash with Raonic will be a step too far in my opinion. Fernando Verdasco has always played well here, only losing once in two appearances and that loss was in the final to Raonic. He could go deep here this week but I'd question his mentality at times and that's why I find it hard to back him. In his side of the draw he could face big serving Ivo Karlovic who will be a threat on this surface.
Fourth seed Tommy Haas is a former champion here and is someone who could be dangerous if he can hit his stride early. I expect Haas to take a while to find his rhythm at his age and so I wasn't expecting much in the first few weeks of the season but it's time he put some results together now. This week is a great chance for him. Second seed John Isner will be hoping that Haas doesn't reach a semi final meeting that they could contest. Isner is another player who will enjoy the conditions this week and I would be surprised if he wasn't around at the weekend.
There are some very tempting prices this week and if you can pick the right player you will be making a healthy profit. John Isner at 4/1 is a price I was very tempted to back, bearing in mind his serve can win him games even if he isn't hitting the ball well. If Querrey got going then 7/1 for him would be very nice. Tommy Haas will be entertaining this week but I don't see him winning titles this week although he is a nice price of 8/1. Verdasco's record here makes 10/1 tempting but the obvious choice for me this week is Milos Raonic at 9/4. The Canadian has never lost here and always enjoys this part of the year.
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