Tennis Picks 2023 (February 10th)

The positive results largely continued on Thursday, although I am disappointed that Beatriz Haddad Maia could not have served out her match on two occasions in the second set.

That meant a 2-1 day for the Tennis Picks rather than the sweep, but I was perhaps fortunate to get away with the Daria Kasatkina selection and so just pleased to come away with a positive return.

I have only one Pick from Friday and that comes from the last of the Abu Dhabi Quarter Final matches scheduled to be played.

Veronika Kudermetova - 1.5 games v Liudmila Samsonova: We are down to the last eight in the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi and six of the players remaining in the draw are going to be inside the top 20 of the World Rankings when the new list is released next Monday.

Both Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova are either going to be at career best World Rankings or close to career best World Rankings with a strong end to the event in Abu Dhabi and that brings plenty of motivation to the court. I expect both players to also look ahead and feel they can have a real impact at Grand Slam level, even if both Veronika Kudermertova and Liudmila Samsonova had disappointing Second Round exits at the Australian Open.

Veronika Kudermetova is a top four Seed in Abu Dhabi and that meant she earned a Bye into the Second Round where she was a strong winner over Elise Mertens. Things have been tougher for Liudmila Samsonova who has had to win two matches this week, while the lower Ranked Russian player needed almost two and a half hours to beat Barbora Krejcikova in the Second Round on Thursday.

Winning in straight sets is a bonus, and it feels like Liudmila Samsonova has the stronger first serve of these two players. However, I have to give an edge to Veronika Kudermetova when it comes to protecting the second serve and she has shown a little more authority on the return on the hard courts, which could prove to be a key to the outcome of this Quarter Final.

I have to give a lot of credit to Liudmila Samsonova and the form she has shown when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months and she does hold a 4-1 record in those matches in that time span. That clearly underlines the progress that has been made by Samsonova to reach a career best World Ranking, but Veronika Kudermetova has shown she has plenty of toughness when facing the best players on the Tour on this surface.

Veronika Kudermetova has also won the last two matches against Liudmila Samsonova, including a victory in their sole hard court match back in 2021 at Indian Wells. That slight mental edge could prove to be decisive when it comes to the critical moments in this set and I think Kudermetova can find a way to edge past her compatriot and reach the Semi Final here with a cover of the mark.

MY PICKS: Veronika Kudermetova - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 5-3, + 2.26 Units (16 Units Staked, + 14.13% Yield)