Tennis Picks 2022 (February 18th)

This has been a difficult week and some of the frustration was felt when Marton Fucsovics was not able to take his chances in the third set in his eventual defeat to Nikoloz Basilashvili.

At least Karen Khachanov prevented it being a really bad day, but this has not been a fun week as the inches have largely been against the selections.

Simona Halep - 3.5 games v Jelena Ostapenko: After winning the French Open there would have been quite a few people out there that were looking forward to seeing how Jelena Ostapenko could kick on with her career. It was a surprising win back in 2017 when the Latvian upset Simona Halep in the Final of Roland Garros and almost a year later Jelena Ostapenko reached a career high World Ranking.

However, the last few seasons have been much tougher for Ostapenko who plays a high risk game, although there have been signs she could be returning to her best.

Jelena Ostapenko has made a positive start to 2022 and there will be a feeling that she can use the momentum of her early season form to carry her forward. The clay court season will soon begin, and that is when Ostapenko may feel her best tennis can be produced, while a couple more big tournaments are to come on the hard courts next month for the Semi Finalist in Dubai.

The Latvian has played well in this tournament, although she has been involved in a couple of tight, physical matches that have lasted around two and a half hours on the court each time. There hasn't been much in her matches and Jelena Ostapenko could have easily been beaten in her last couple of matches, and now she has to take on arguably the player of the tournament.

Simona Halep has benefited from a good draw to reach another Semi Final, but she has been producing some very strong numbers and she has spent a lot less time on the court than her opponent in this Semi Final. The serve will be tested by an aggressive Jelena Ostapenko return, but Halep has had an edge on this side of her tennis and I think that will put her in a good position to beat someone who could be feeling the effects of playing as much tennis as she has needed to in order to move through the draw.

Both players will feel the return of serve is going to be key for them, but I think there has been more consistency in the Simona Halep first serve which can give her the edge.

The Romanian has also been able to protect the second serve with a bit more belief in her own game and I think that will lead to a good win for the former World Number 1.

MY PICKS: Simona Halep - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Roberto Bautista Agut - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)