Mixed bag of results yesterday. While it was disappointing that Sam Querrey traded into $1.04 and lost, it was great to get the first two Best Bets as winners for the new season.

Week-to-date:

ATP Brisbane: 4-1 (best bets 2-0)

ATP Chennai: 0-1

Lleyton Hewitt vs Feliciano Lopez

Previous H2H: Hewitt leads 3-0 (All straight sets, all 7+ years ago)

This just screams horrible matchup for Feliciano. Although he got through his first round match against Kukushkin, it was by no means convincing. When you consider since the start of 2011 that Lopez is 2-5 on hardcourt across the Sydney/Brisbane lead-up matches (4 losses were straight sets), you have to question his ability to start the season well and become accustomed to the conditions in Australia.

Lleyton had a tricky match to start, against the young Thanasi Kokkinakis. Hewitt admitted that it wasn’t the ideal way to kick off proceedings in Brisbane, but still got the job done 6-3 7-5. He reports being injury free and looked to move freely in the first set. What also works to the advantage of Hewitt is being able to call on Chris Guccione to serve to him during his practice sessions. As a result, the leftie serve of Lopez shouldn’t cause too much grief for Hewitt, even on the fast hardcourt in Brisbane. Also, we cannot forget the influence of the Fanatics courtside, who will provide a fantastic atmosphere for Lleyton.

I think Hewitt should cover the -1.5 game handicap regardless of whether it is 2 or 3 sets. An interesting stat for Hewitt is he is 51-10 on hardcourt across his career against left handers. Can it be win 52 today? i think so.

Suggested Bet: Lleyton Hewitt -1.5 games at $1.83 at Pinnacle (Best Aus price Sportsbet/365)

Confidence: 75%