Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing Monday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Challenger Amersfoort, Jakub Mensik vs Manuel Guinard
Jakub Mensik vs Manuel Guinard Best Bet: Monday, July 17th
Strong stuff in the Wimbledon semifinals, as both favourites cover the handicaps as expected. The stronger edge covered more comfortably as well, making the larger wager the one that never looked in doubt. Can’t complain about that!
The Championships may be over, but tennis never stops. This week, there are three ATP Tour events and another five down at the Challenger Tour level. There are plenty of matches to find value on and for Monday’s selection, we’ll look to the Challenger tournament in Amersfoort and the match between Jakub Mensik and Manuel Guinard.
In this article:
Jakub Mensik vs Manuel Guinard Preview
Mon, July 17th, 16:00 (UK Time)
One of the better main draw matches going at the Challenger level on Monday has to be between these two guys.
Guinard, who has just found his form in the last few weeks, and Mensik, one of the better up-and-coming young talents in the men’s game, both possess strong serves and decent firepower from the baseline.
Each is also comfortable on the red, which means we should see some fun tennis from these two.
The difference for me here is in who has the more dynamic game. While the Frenchman does possess a strong serve and forehand combination, he lags well behind his teenage counterpart in this match from the backhand wing.
His movement and court coverage are also average at best, though I’d argue they’re subpar and his game can lose its range very quickly, which makes for some ugly tennis.
The latter reason is why Guinard began his 2023 campaign with an absurdly poor 3-15 record. When he’s netting his forehand or sending them long, he finds himself in big trouble. Without a very defensive game to fall back on, he struggles to find ways to win points.
That said, his form has turned in a big way of late. Have to credit him with that much, but even when he’s been playing well, he’s lost to the best players he’s gone up against in Mariano Navone and Filip Misolic. The latter was only a three-game loss last week, but Misolic did have a healthier lead in that second set that he squandered away against a dead tired Guinard.
I think Mensik is in the same talent sphere as those two – arguably much more talented than the Argentine – and should pose major problems for Guinard in the Netherlands.
Jakub Mensik vs Manuel Guinard Best Bet
It’s incredible how quickly markets can go from being down on someone over an extended losing streak to giving them an incredible amount of respect thanks to one or two strong events.
There’s no doubting form matters in tennis. As an individual sport, feeling your game is going well and you’re hitting your spots can be invaluable.
In betting, however, this is still a game of probabilities and likelihoods. Form should move our numbers a bit, but to be just a three-game underdog to one of the best young players on the Challenger Tour, with the more well-rounded game and who has nearly broken the top-200 at just 17 years old is a bit much.
I’ll back the young Czech, who has really impressed me so far in 2023. A three-game head start doesn’t seem too steep to me.
- Selection: Mensik -3 Games
- Best Odds: 1.88 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as at 2:00 am UK Time on July 17th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
More Jakub Mensik vs Manuel Guinard Tips
