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I talked about the conditions here in Bogota in yesterday's tip. The altitude of 2500 meters just doesn't give you too much time to react and it creates a weird bounce, which means don't come too often when two good servers are involves, something that Tomic and Falla definitely are. This particularly refers to the Australian who didn't allow a single break chance in the first match while the Colombian lost his serve only once. Both have left a good impression in the first match and I see this as a very tight match in which both players have their own advantage. Falla's advantage are home court and adaptation,while I think Tomic has more quality. All in all, I see this as a very tight match with a very probably third set, but this margin can go through in two sets. Details

Croatia tried to slow the game against the French yesterday on purpose. They took the risk with the zone defense, and it paid off. But, even with that kind of pace, around 120 points were scored. The situation is completely different today. The opponent are Poland, who like a faster pace, but had a shooting percentage of 45%, and scored only one three pointer in 13 attempts. I'm convinced they can do it again for a few reasons. One of the main reasons is the fact they were already knocked out and have no chance of reaching the quarter final. Poland will be relaxed about this game and I believe they can put up a good fight like that. Croatia are an offense-oriented team, and their defense failed yesterday against the physically strong France. The game is not important for Croatia either since they don't know who will be their opponent in the second round. I think this match will end at around 140 points, and that calls for a certain stake. Details

An extremely tough match for both teams. The home team want a 3-0 or a 3-1, while the away team would be happy with two sets. To bet on the higher number of point seems like the right choice since both teams will fight for each and every point. But Macedonia have more chance of getting through. They beat Montenegro twice in the last year, allowing the opponent to win only one set, but both matches took place in Skopje. The first match ended with 186 points, and the intensity of this match will be even greater. Everything suggest an over, even five sets. Any other bet would not be logical. Details

A lot of games at this EC are close and the final minutes decide the winner. I think these teams are the main candidates for the final. The main difference between the Serbs and the Lithuanians is the back court. Dimsa and Grigonis at Lithuania are the players that make the differnece. Pot at Serbia is not reliable, neither is Novak, who scored only 2 points against Greece and Britain, after 32 against Germany. Jaramaz is prone to making mistakes both in defense and offense, Rebic is short and will struggle with Ginvainis and Lekavicius, while Andric doesn't seem to be the player who can make the difference in the important games. Serbia are powerful in the key, but struggle anyway. Lithuania are not as good in the key, but Tarolis and Kresin make great players when it comes to rebound. I expect Lithuania to put up a good fight, and even come close to winning. This game is extremely important because the winner get top spot and plays either Israel or Italy, while the loser gets position three and the possibility to meet France, Turkey, or even Croatia. Both teams will do their best. Lithuania were in the weakest group and struggled to find motivation, they were horrible yesterday, opened the game badly the day before yesterday. But today, they'll give their best from the start, I'm sure of it... Details

Latvia have struggled a lot with shooting here. They had good moments like against Greece and Hungary, but overall, their shooting was far from good - 37.9% field goal, which makes them the 14th team here. Despite 70 points allowed on average, Sweden have played a solid defense as the game against Germany (82) pumped up their stats. Serbia scored 75 against them, 27 of which came in last period, while Bulgaria is Bulgaria, a very potent team. While Sweden's defense is solid (they limited Montenegro to 47), their offense is poor and they usually end below the 60-point line. The only team against whom they scored more were Montenegro - 65. Whoever wins this one will avoid relegation battle and the importance of this game should play a major role. Latvia have gone under this margin in 4 out of 6 games, Sweden in 6 out of 6. Details

For a moment, it seemed like both teams slowed down a bit as the second stage began. But, the results, not what actually happened on the court suggests that. Montenegro's game with Latvia was an under, just like the game with Sweden, who struggle with offense. More points should be scored in their head to head game. In the first stage of the competition, only the game with Croatia was not as efficient (134 points). The others ended at 154 (Italy), 169 (Turkey), and 154 points (Czech Republic). Bulgaria are a very offense-oriented team that don't bother with defense too much. They have Vezenkov, who can score 30 points against anyone. Their first stage games ended at 162 (Poland), 153 (France), and 150 points (Israel). The only less efficient game was the one against Russia. It ended at 141 points scored, which is below this margin. That happened because they haven't scored in the last three minutes. This might be an important game, but so was the one Montenegro played with Italy in the first round and many points were scored then. Bulgaria don't play good defense even when they need to, and always try to use offense to settle the games. Details

The truth is that Groth is currently a Top 100 player while Cabal doesn't have any ranking at all in singles, but I don't see this as a walk in the park for the Australian, especially not at the start and I think the Colombian has several advantages in terms of adaptations. First of all, this tournament is played on the altitude of 2500 meter and the bounce of the ball is very low, which means it suits players with strong serves and strokes. I have no doubt Groth will do well but he's come here after completely different conditions, both in terms of altitude and surface - grass. Cabal is a doubles player and his serve is stable, while Groth's return has never been his forte. The Colombian has prepared more thoroughly for this game and he should be very much motivated playing at home. I expect a tight set in which tie-break wouldn't come as a surprise, but I'll take this safer option. Details