Madrid Masters Tennis Picks 2022 (May 1st)

A difficult start on Saturday was replaced with three consecutive winners for the Tennis Picks and it has kept the week totals ticking along nicely.

The WTA event will have reached the Third Round in Madrid by the time the Sunday action is concluded, but the ATP First Round begins on the same day, while the tournaments in Estoril and Munich conclude with both Finals set to be played.

I will update the season totals in the Tuesday Tennis Picks thread, but for now you can read my selections from the Sunday schedule below.

Marta Kostyuk v Emma Raducanu: Two very young players are meeting on the clay courts in the WTA Madrid Second Round and I have little doubt that Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu know all about the other. It is Marta Kostyuk who is the slightly older of the two and she has been a pro for longer, but Emma Raducanu has raised her own stock ever since winning the US Open.

A first competitive season playing on the clay is something of a learning experience for Raducanu, but she was a solid enough winner in the First Round. It is the second time she has beaten Tereza Martincova on the clay courts, while Emma Raducanu is feeling pretty comfortable on the surface, despite the heavy loss to Marketa Vondrousova in the Billy Jean King Cup.

The numbers back that up, but this is a match against a pretty strong clay courter in Marta Kostyuk who reached the French Open Fourth Round last year. We haven't seen a lot of Kostyuk on the clay courts in 2022 as she continues to worry about the situation in Ukraine, her home, but she was a strong winner over Clara Tauson in the First Round.

In her early career, Marta Kostyuk has shown a liking to playing on the clay courts and I do think that experience could stand her in good stead against her British opponent.

Over the last twelve months, Marta Kostyuk has shown she has a pretty effective serve on this surface and she has been able to back that up with strong returning displays. We don't have a very big sample of numbers from Emma Raducanu, but it does feel like her second serve is pretty attackable on the clay and that is where Kostyuk could come out on top in this match.

Both players will feel they can have success when they are returning, but I do have a touch more faith in the Marta Kostyuk serve in what is a pick 'em match set by the layers.

These two did meet on a hard court at the back end of 2021 and it was Marta Kostyuk who crushed Emma Raducanu for the loss of three games. The British player did struggle with the weight of expectation following the US Open success, but Emma Raducanu saw her serve attacked over and over again and I think Marta Kostyuk will be the player moving through to the Third Round thanks to her superior clay court successes.

MY PICKS: Marta Kostyuk @ 1.91 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Elena Rybakina - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

John Isner - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Lorenzo Sonego - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Holger Rune - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Sebastian Baez - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 8-4, + 6 Units (24 Units Staked, + 25% Yield)

Madrid Update: 6-2, + 6.94 Units (16 Units Staked, + 43.38% Yield)