The TennisMan's must have ATP Tips - 12th July | Thebigtip

The tennis circus in on the road once again, this time back on the claycourts of Europe in Sweden and Germany. Here are TennisMan’s daily expert selections to help you tip a winner.

ATP Bastad

Potito Starace (1.55) (ITA) v Florent Serra (2.45) (FRA) -
Hard to call but I'm leaning towards Serra. The Frenchman has been scratchy this season but his opponent's form has not been much better. Both will be happy to be back on the clay and I think Serra's consistency should get him through. He leads the series 2-0 and can add a third victory over the Italian in three tough sets.

Pere Riba-Madrid (1.62) (ESP) v Peter Luczak (2.30) (AUS) -
Another tough match to call, but Luczak looks good odds here. The Aussie scrapper has been travelling OK and faces another baseliner here in Riba-Madrid. The Spaniard loves the dirt and has posted some sound results in 2010, but Luczak will see this as a good chance to progress to Round 2 and can cause a minor shock. Luczak in three sets.

Daniel Brands (GER) (1.48) v Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) (2.65) -
Brands is in career-best form after a surprise run at Wimbledon, making the fourth round. He faces Vinciguerra here in a tricky contest and again I am siding with the underdog. Vinciguerra is ranked in the 300s but her loves playing at home and is good enough to pull off an upset. Brands loves the faster hardcourts and will find it hard to break down the gritty Swede. Vinciguerra in three sets.

Fabio Fognini (ITA) (1.28) v Filip Prpic (SWE) (3.70) -
Can only see one result here, a Fognini victory. The Italian isn't always mentally stable, but he should post a win over Prpic in this one. The Swede will lift with the home fans on his side but the Italian is slowly improving this year and he is good enough to take this one out in straight sets.

ATP Stuttgart

Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) (3.50) v Victor Hanescu (ROU) (1.30) -
Two talented shot-makers square off here, but Hanescu looks a certain winner. The Romanian is right at home on the slow surface while Chiudinelli prefers the quicker surfaces, particularly indoors. They have not played since 2004 when Hanescu won easily and a similar result looks likely again. The Romanian will have cooled off from his strange Wimbledon outburst to get the victory here in two sets.

Mischa Zverev (GER) (2.05) v Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) (1.77) -
This pair met earlier in the season in Barcelona with the Ukrainian taking the win in three sets and I will be selecting him here. Zverev has had a terrible season (6-12) and looks like coming up short again in this one. Both posses big games but the German’s mental fragilities make it hard to pick him with any confidence. Stakhovsky is no star, but does the job often enough. The Ukrainian in two sets.

Best Bet

- I like Luczak. Very surprised at these odds and Pere-Riba is no world beater. Take the Aussie straight out.

Suggested Multi

- Take a pick 4. Luczak, Fognini, Hanescu and Stakhovsky ($6.78)

All the best Punters!