BNP Paribas Masters 2014 Betting: In-form Sock can cause a shock against Raonic

Jack Sock can cause problems for Milos Raonic today

Andy Murray is among those in action at the BNP Paribas Masters on Wednesday and Sean Calvert is back with his best bets on day three in Bercy...

Round two action is the order of the day in Bercy on Wednesday, with plenty of star quality to be found at the Palais Omnisports today.

Andy Murray is one those in action and he'll be facing the mercurial talents of Julien Benneteau in what looks just one of several tough matches for the short priced favourites in Paris today.

Murray may still be feeling the effects of that epic Valencia final that had an exasperated Tommy Robredo flipping him the double bird on Sunday on top of a very tough late season schedule.

What the Brit doesn't need is Benny bouncing around like a spring lamb across the net in his home Masters and with a potential place in the Davis Cup team up for grabs as his motivation.

Murray has a perfect record against Benneteau, but they haven't met for a while - only twice in the last five years - and Murray will need to be sharp here to avoid a potentially damaging first round loss.

He looks highly likely to qualify for the World Tour Finals anyway and will do if he makes the last eight this week, but the bet here might be on Benny to win a set at 1.9210/11.

Another London contender who may struggle is Milos Raonic, who, despite a 5-1 career lead over Jack Sock, isn't playing good tennis right now, while Sock is in prime form.

The head-to-head is a little misleading, as four of their last five sets have been won on tie breaks, and on his lack of form last week in Basel and recent illness the Canadian is worth taking on here.

Sock is at a career high in the rankings right now and has really found some form in the latter half of the season, with wins over the likes of Kei Nishikori and John Isner, while he impressed in victories over Bernard Tomic and Pablo Andujar here this week.

An improvement on the backhand side and a better attitude is all he really needed to be dangerous and while the tie break is worth backing again the value might lie with Sock outright here at 3.259/4.

Sock to win set one on the tie break is a 5.85/1 shot, with Raonic by the same score a 4.57/2 chance and either should give a run for your money, but despite the Canadian needing points for his London bid he doesn't look in good form or mood at all and I'll take a chance on the Chipotle-loving American here.

That one begins at 09:30 UK time, as does another similarly priced match between Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka and we have to take Wawrinka on in some way here.

Taking on Novak Djokovic didn't pay off yesterday, but Stan is in woeful form and confidence is low right now. He looks there for the taking if Thiem hits form.

The young Austrian beat Wawrinka earlier in the season on clay and these slow courts in Bercy should give Thiem a chance of repeating that success, with Wawrinka on a losing streak and playing some poor tennis.

The overs is tempting here, but I'm going to go a little circumspect on this one, and side with Thiem to win a set at 1.684/6, as he may fade this late into a long, tough season.

Recommended Bets
Back Sock to beat Raonic at 3.259/4
Back Thiem to win a set vs Wawrinka at 1.684/6