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Just having a read of this. Anyone got any fancies themselves this week? thanks

The week after a Grand Slam is not the best time to have a tennis bet.

The top players are usually missing - indeed no top-10 star is in action in this week's three ATP tournaments - while those that do show are often hardly champing at the bit to succeed.

It's therefore a good idea to pick out those players who have a good reason to shine - notably that's the home hopefuls in the fields.

South Africa have few title hopes at their event in Johannesburg, so we'll turn to the events in Zagreb and Santiago for this week's tips.

The PBZ Zagreb Indoors provides ideal slick conditions for the home players, who tend to be 6ft-plus giants.

Marin Cilic, Ivan Ljubicic (seeded second and notably nursing a thigh injury) and Ivo Karlovic lead the home bid this year and it's the former who looks a worthy favourite.
The Australian Open semi-finalist won here 12 months ago and impressed Down Under where he eventually found Andy Murray too good.

His big serve and booming forehand will win him plenty of free points in this tournament - as was the case in 2009.

One concern may be fatigue - Cilic had to endure three five-setters in Melbourne and looked weary in the latter stages against Murray.

However, the organisers will bend over backwards to please him here - expect a Wednesday start for Cilic - and he should have recovered by then.

Even if he is still a little tired, it's back to best-of-three matches now and the points will be a lot shorter indoors than they were on the outdoor Plexicushion.

Back him at 15/8.

Moving on, the four-week South American claycourt swing begins this week in Chile, where home favourite Fernando Gonzalez looks the one to beat.

He looked in decent enough nick in Melbourne, only being edged out by Andy Roddick in a cracking five-set contest in the last 16.

His forehand remains one of the best in the game and should prove more than a handful for the field gathered in Santiago.

The surface switch to clay won't trouble 'Gonzo' too much and although he is probably more at home on hard this days, remember this is a player who made the semis of the French Open last season.

Like Cilic, he won his home tournament in 2009, although admittedly the event has switched from Vina del Mar to the capital this season. However, that should be taken a positive for potential backers as Santiago is actually Gonzalez's home city and birth place. He also won on home soil in 2008, 2004 and 2002 so you can probably tell this event means something to 29-year-old - even more so this year after the venue change.

A real hero in his homeland - he and Nicolas Massu won Chile's first-ever Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004 - the crowd will be totally behind him in Davis Cup fashion.
With that backing and decent form, we're confident of him making it a nap hand of titles so we're happy to take the short price on offer about him doing so.

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