It is never that much fun watching a match where the fine edges move against the Tennis Picks and especially not in a season where it seems to be happening far more often than it should do.
For example, on Thursday the two Picks from Doha ended up a combined six points fewer than their opponents, but both were beaten in straight sets.
While that is frustrating, it does not help the mood to see the two other selections made win THIRTY more points, yet have to struggle to get over the line. This just sums up the early part of the 2024 season and it just feels like there is very little fortune landing on the side of the Picks.
Bad Picks are not going to be ignored, but it is very strange to see so many dominating the numbers and still not being able to close the door on the matches as would be expected.
Turning around this inconsistent week is still the main ambition to start moving back in a positive direction, but it has been a tough slog. Poor selections would actually be a situation that could be resolved, but it is much harder to find the changes needed when so many players have been a point or two away from doing what is expected of them, only to then blow matches by losing the big points time after time.
Below you can see my early selections from the Quarter Final/Semi Final matches to be played at the four tournaments running this week.
Any further Picks from Buenos Aires or Delray Beach will be added to the thread on Friday morning.
Marcos Giron - 3.5 games v Patrick Kypson: It has been a positive time back in the United States for Marcos Giron who reached the Final in Dallas last week and has maintained strong form in Delray Beach.
With big events to come up in Indian Wells and Miami, Marcos Giron has to be feeling very good about where his tennis is right now.
Facing up against Patrick Kypson will be a challenge considering the young American has won a Challenger event in Cleveland in early February and he has won two matches here in Delray Beach. Taking full advantage of his Wild Card, Patrick Kypson has won back to back matches in straight sets and he has a serve that can be very dangerous.
The numbers have only slightly dipped when Patrick Kypson has faced top 100 Ranked opponents over the last twelve months and so this is a match that Marcos Giron has to take very seriously.
However, the veteran in this match up has been playing at a really high level and that could be too much for Patrick Kypson to deal with over the length of time needed on the court.
If he serves well, Patrick Kypson will pose a threat, but Marcos Giron has been in strong returning form over the last couple of weeks and may find the breaks he needs to cover this line.
Elena Rybakina - 4.5 games v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: It has been a really strong run in the first two Middle East tournaments for Elena Rybakina and she is continuing to exert plenty of pressure on her opponents.
Serving as well as she has been, Elena Rybakina will be looking to keep that going against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The latter has had a strong run in the tournament too, but has not been nearly as convincing in her performances- the fine margins are landing in Pavlyuchenkova's side of the court, but she is going to need more than that if she is going to upset the World Number 4.
It is a big spread and especially if Pavlyuchenkova serves as well as she can.
An aggressive style is dangerous if Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is feeling her tennis, but you do have to feel that the match is going to be played on the Rybakina racquet.
Over the last couple of weeks, Elena Rybakina has not just been winning matches, but she has been winning matches really well and she can earn a measure of revenge for a French Open defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in May 2021.
Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 games v Alexander Shevchenko: He is 23 years old and heading back towards a career high World Ranking so the confidence will be in a pretty good place before Alexander Shevchenko thinks about what he will consider to be the best win of his career.
The Second Round saw Shevchenko get the better of Holger Rune and he has shown solid resliency this week in Rotterdam by winning both matches as an underdog. Both have been won in a final set decider too and that will give Shevchenko the belief that he is never out of this Quarter Final.
He is up against veteran Grigor Dimitrov who has enjoyed a very strong start to 2024.
Last week he came up short in the Marseille Final, but Dimitrov won a title last month and he has looked in pretty good nick in his two wins in Rotterdam.
The serve is expected to be an important weapon after Alexander Shevchenko struggled with his returning consistency against Holger Rune.
It is a big spread when you consider how Alexander Shevchenko has been serving in Rotterdam, but the scoreboard pressure could help Dimitrov reach yet another Semi Final on the Tour in 2024.
Tommy Paul - 1.5 games v Jordan Thompson: The only addition from the remaining Quarter Finals in Delray Beach and Buenos Aires is this selection from the opening match in Florida.
Two players who have been enjoying playing the hard court events in the United States meet in this Quarter Final and both Jordan Thompson and Tommy Paul have to be feeling good about the tennis being played.
Tommy Paul won the title in Dallas last week and earned a Bye through to the Second Round in Delray Beach- his three hour win over Alex Michelsen may have sapped some of the energy, and that time spent on court is the one factor that has to reduce enthusiasm for the pick.
He is also facing an opponent in Jordan Thompson who has been winning matches with a real level of comfort over the last two weeks, although the Australian may have benefited from the draws to some extent. Three of the four wins he has produced in Dallas and Delray Beach have been against opponents Ranked Number 149 or even lower down the Rankings, although the win over Dan Evans deserves some respect.
It does mean Jordan Thompson is 4-4 in matches against top 100 Ranked opponents in 2024 and his return game remains a relative weakness that can be exploited by Tommy Paul as long as he is still holding some energy in reserve.
The Thompson serve is a big weapon, but it did falter a couple of times in his defeat to Ben Shelton last week and Tommy Paul is a better return player compared with his compatriot. Of course he has played a lot more tennis than most in the last couple of weeks and that could show up, but Tommy Paul looks in a position to earn his first victory over Jordan Thompson on the Tour having lost their previous meeting on a grass court in the Netherlands.
Big serving should shorten the points and that should help Tommy Paul as he bids to reach another Semi Final on the United States hard courts.
MY PICKS: Marcos Giron - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elena Rybakina - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)
Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)
Tommy Paul - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 5-7, - 5.42 Units (24 Units Staked, - 22.58% Yield)
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