Tennis Picks 2018 (June 24th)

Another week on the Tennis Tour is about to be put into the books with the four events this week all having their Finals played on Sunday.

We also have the beginning of the tournament in Eastbourne which is going to be the final preparation for players before the third Grand Slam of the season begins at Wimbledon in eight days time.

Last week was another strong one for the Tennis Picks to move this season into a strong positive position. One more this week will give me the kind of momentum I would like to take into Wimbledon and I am looking for a good start to open up the week which begins on Sunday to ensure the Finals are ready to be played next Saturday.


Donna Vekic - 3.5 games v Yulia Putintseva: The First Round begins at the WTA event in Eastbourne on Sunday and I do think Donna Vekic is capable of getting the better of Yulia Putintseva in this match.

You always have to credit a player for winning a Qualifier to get into the main draw and Putintseva is coming in off a surprisingly strong showing at the French Open. However it has to be said that Putintseva is not at her best on the grass courts and even a win in a Qualifier is not going to convince me she has suddenly figured things out on a difficult surface to master.

One of the problems for Putintseva is she has a serve which won't produce a lot of free points on the grass courts and it is a shot that opponents can attack from the off. Donna Vekic will look to do that in Eastbourne and she has been returning well enough on the grass in 2018 to think she will have considerable success when getting after Putintseva.

There would have been more wins put up by Vekic if she had served slightly better in her matches on the grass this season, but losses to Johanna Konta and Elina Svitolina are hardly big disappointments on this surface. Those players are opponents who can challenge the Vekic serve, but it may be a much bigger challenge for Putintseva who has been a poor returner on the grass in recent years.

Putintseva did return well to beat Christina McHale in the Qualifiers, but her numbers in recent years have been some way short of the standard that she will need in this one.

I would expect the Vekic serve to be good enough to keep Putintseva at bay in this match and I think she is a capable returner. It may be tough for Vekic to maintain the level of success she has had returning on the grass in 2018, but I do think she can keep that going here as she beats Putintseva and moves through to the Second Round with a win and cover.

MY PICKS: Donna Vekic - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Season 2018 Update: + 25.84 Units (953 Units Staked, + 2.71% Yield)