A poor week in February wasn't great, but a few days away in Madrid following that meant my lean was towards waiting for the first Masters event of the 2022 season.
Back to back events in North America are going to be played before we move onto the clay court portion of the season leading into the French Open. Rule changes in Europe is good news for Novak Djokovic, who is expected to miss out in Indian Wells and Miami due to his vaccination status, but the current World Number 2 is going to be unlikely to take part over the next three weeks even if that has yet to be confirmed.
Issues in Eastern Europe are clearly the focus for all and not just those of us who live in a European country. The decision has been made by a number of sporting bodies that Russian and, to a lesser extent, Belarusian athletes/sports teams will be prevented from attending certain events.
Tennis has yet to follow suit with some of the leading players on both the ATP and WTA Tours representing those nations and I think that is the correct decision- this is a deep political question, but I am not sure players on the Tour should be blamed and ultimately punished for actions of their governments, even if I do understand that it may not be the best look if those players are winning the big tournaments.
Tennis players are almost in contractor roles and I am not sure it would sit right if some are forced from the Tour when they are not as fault. That would mean being unable to provide for their family and it seems like it would be much harsher than the decision to prevent a national team playing in an event together.
It is not an easy distinction and I think it is an extremely sad state of affairs that we are having to deal with things like this in the 21st Century. Hopefully all in Ukraine and Russia who are suffering at the moment will be in a much more peaceful position sooner rather than later.
And I do think it would have been very hard for the ATP Tour to ban the current World Number 1 Daniil Medvedev for actions that have nothing to do with him personally and especially when they have allowed Alexander Zverev 'a pass' for his actions in Mexico.
Attacking the umpire's chair was a terrible look for Zverev himself and I think he would have had to accept any ban from the Tour, but a suspended ban looks terrible on the Tour that seemingly is afraid to deal with the biggest names.
Then again, I am not entirely surprised that the ATP Tour has not put something in place to deal with these types of misconduct when other, more serious issues like domestic violence are largely ignored or not acted upon.
The Australian Open was a solid tournament for the Tennis Picks, but one poor week in February has hurt the overall numbers.
I am looking for Indian Wells/Miami to just turn things around before the move onto the clay courts in the lead up to the French Open.
Dayana Yastremska - 1.5 games v Caroline Garcia: It has been a hard watch for those not associated with Ukraine to see the country suffering from an invasion from a neighbour, but I can't really appreciate what it would be like for someone who calls the nation 'home'. Many of the Ukrainian players on the WTA Tour made their feelings and hopes for those at home clear last week and Dayana Yastremska donated her winnings to funds to help those less fortunate.
As a tennis player, life is largely lived out of a suitcase and this week Dayana Yastremska will be heading to the West Coast of the United States to take part in the Indian Wells tournament. She reached the Final in Lyon last week before narrowly being beaten in a tight, competitive match and it is a run that should provide a boost in confidence.
It is harder to gauge how Dayana Yastremska may be feeling with the war continuing at home, but her tennis since the Australian Open has been much improved. The return part of her game has stayed pretty steady, but Dayana Yastremska has been getting a little more out of both the first and second serve, although conditions in this part of California can be tough to deal with.
The First Round opponent is Caroline Garcia, who also reached the Semi Final in Lyon last week and was beaten by the same opponent as Dayana Yastremska. The Frenchwoman was less competitive against Shuai Zhang than Yastremska in the Final, but Caroline Garcia needed a tournament where she put a couple of wins together after what has been a disappointing start to the 2022 season.
Caroline Garcia had not won back to back matches this season before the tournament in Lyon and she needs to find a way to get a lot more out of her return game if she is going to move her World Ranking back in a positive direction. The serve can still offer a platform from which Garcia can have success, but winning just 37% of return points is not going to cut it on the WTA Tour.
Conditions here can be difficult to get used to and the ball can fly at times if players are not feeling their game like they would- that does make it a little more difficult for both Caroline Garcia and Dayana Yastremska who will both want to get their serve cranked up to offer a best route through.
The superior returning in 2022 of the Ukrainian should give her the edge and I imagine the crowd are going to be firmly behind Yastremska here.
She has also won both previous meetings with Caroline Garcia and I think the younger player can back up her big week in Lyon by progressing through to the Second Round at the biggest event being played since the Australian Open.
MY PICKS: Dayana Yastremska - 1.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Season 2022: - 11.62 Units (194 Units Staked, - 5.99% Yield)
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