French Open Tennis Day 6 Picks 2024 (Friday 31st May)

There has been plenty of criticism of the fans at Roland Garros this year, but it was still a surprise to see the organisers choose to restrict alcohol being taken onto the stands.

Whether this makes a difference will be seen in the coming days with so many players complaining about the noise- seriously, this feels a little pathetic to me, but you cannot blame the organisers for wanting to make things a bit more comfortable for those on the court.

Rain has been the bigger issue at the event and Day 6 of the tournament has been given an earlier start time with the feeling that some Second Round matches will yet to be completed. The weather looks better as we close in on the second week at Roland Garros so hopefully all will be back on schedule by Friday evening.

Andrey Rublev - 5.5 games v Matteo Arnaldi: A chance to reach the second week of a Grand Slam will underline the continued progress being made by Matteo Arnaldi who is playing at a career high World Ranking mark. The Italian is very comfortable on the clay courts, although it has perhaps not been as strong a season on the surface as he would have liked.

Two wins in Paris will make him feel better all around about where his tennis stands and Matteo Arnaldi has shown he can handle some pressure by beating two Frenchmen at the French Open.

The first of those wins was also against a Seeded player and Matteo Arnaldi will have to use that win to give him some confidence heading into this Third Round match. He will need all of the help he needs when taking on Andrey Rublev who has quietly been going about his business at the French Open again.

He looks to be in the half of the draw where Andrey Rublev could finally move beyond the Quarter Final at a Grand Slam and this is a player who has long been able to beat those he is expected to, while coming up short against some of the elite players on the Tour.

As mentioned earlier this week, Andrey Rublev has not had the best results on the clay courts, but the numbers have remained strong. He showed that in his win over Pedro Martinez in the last Round and Rublev is certainly capable of getting the better of Matteo Arnaldi, even on the favoured surface for the latter.

Their sole previous match ended in a routine win for Andrey Rublev, although that was on the hard courts, and he can certainly do enough to make this a relatively comfortable day in the office too.

Coco Gauff - 5.5 games v Dayana Yastremska: She had to Qualify for the Australian Open in January, but a stunning run has pushed Dayana Yastremska into the top 32 of the World Rankings and that means direct entry into the remaining Grand Slams of the 2024 season.

Despite a relatively poor clay court season, Dayana Yastremska has made her way through to the Third Round at the French Open and she dominated her last opponent. Things were tougher in the First Round when the Ukrainian had to come from a set behind to beat Alja Tomljanovic, and this is a considerable step upwards in terms of quality of opponent.

A place on the show courts will be next up for Yastremska when she faces Coco Gauff, who had a tougher than expected Second Round win.

However, a win is a win and the American is very comfortable on the clay courts with each of her last two French Open runs ended at the hands of Iga Swiatek. The World Number 1 was in the way again when Coco Gauff was beaten in the Rome Semi Final and it is very likely that the young American is going to have to find a way to get past her in this tournament.

For now the focus has to be on continuing to win matches as the US Open Champion looks to add another Grand Slam to her collection.

Outside of matches against Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff has continued to display her clay court qualities and the expectation is that she can do the same in this Third Round match.

When she met Dayana Yastremska in Madrid, Coco Gauff was a comfortable winner having gotten through a tough opening set and something similar is expected to happen here. The Ukrainian has also been well beaten by Aryna Sabalenka this season on this surface and it does feel that Yastremska is still way behind the elite players on the clay, a category that Coco Gauff belongs to.

It may not be quite as wide as the win in Madrid, but Coco Gauff can still make it wide enough to cover this mark on her way into the second week of the tournament.

Marketa Vondrousova - 5.5 games v Chloe Paquet: When these two players last met on the Tour, both Chloe Paquet and Marketa Vondrousova were Ranked way outside the top 200 and winning Grand Slam matches, never mind titles, would have felt a long way away.

Out of the two players, it is Marketa Vondrousova who has really grown into one of the better players on the Tour and she is a big favourite in this Third Round match.

The crowds have been able to get involved in matches and rattle players and that may be the biggest challenge for Vondrousova with the home fans likely to be very much behind Chloe Paquet. However, decisions have been made by the organisers to limit the kind of interactions we have been seeing and that should only benefit Vondrousova in her bid to reach the second week at the French Open again.

She has the qualities to beat Chloe Paquet, although the Frenchwoman should be respected for battling through her Second Round match. Two tie-breakers were needed against Katerina Siniakova after dropping the first set, but it has to be a question of how much Paquet left on the court in order to overcome that opponent.

Beating a Seed will give her belief, while Chloe Paquet was a dominant First Round winner.

There is also the factor that Marketa Vondrousova had to come from behind to win her own Second Round match, although it was a less taxing win all in all and that should help the Czech player.

Covering this kind of number is never easy for someone like Vondrousova, but she did that for us in the First Round and the feeling is that she will be able to weather an early storm before taking control of the match. Handling the emotion of the occasion might be challenging, but Marketa Vondrousova won the Wimbledon title against a crowd favourite last year and that kind of quality can help her past Chloe Paquet into the second week on Friday.

MY PICKS: Andrey Rublev - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)

Marketa Vondrousova - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)

French Open Update: 9-3, + 8.20 Units (24 Units Staked, + 34.17% Yield)

French Open Tennis Day 5 Picks 2024 (Thursday 30th May)

It has been an incredibly wet day in Paris and more bad weather is to come on Day 5 at the tournament, which really could play havoc on the schedule.

The organisers will be hoping for wider pockets of clear weather to try and get as many of the Second Round matches through, especially with the Third Round scheduled to begin on Friday.

Daniil Medvedev - 5.5 games v Miomir Kecmanovic: He has not always had much love for the clay or the grass courts, but Daniil Medvedev has shown he has the grit and determination to produce big results at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Last year was a disappointment considering he had won the big title in Rome, but Medvedev is back in Paris and will be hoping to fly under the radar early on with the focus on Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

It took four sets to get past Dominik Koepfer in the First Round, but it is a solid win for Daniil Medvedev who had a relatively unspectacular build up to the second Grand Slam of the season.

Next up is Miomir Kecmanovic, who is very capable of upsetting the very best players on the Tour when he is able to put his tennis together. Finding that consistency has been tougher and perhaps the main reason this player from Serbia has not been able to crack the top 20 of the World Rankings like others from his nation in recent years.

The clay court season was pretty disappointing as far as Kecmanovic is concerned, but a solid First Round win over Thiago Monteiro will have him feeling better about his tennis. Miomir Kecmanovic was beaten by the same opponent in Rome, but he does hold a win over Casper Ruud on the red dirt in the lead up to the French Open and that will give him confidence, and Daniil Medvedev something to think about.

However, it has not been a good match up for Kecmanovic who has lost all three previous matches against Daniil Medvedev and without causing too many problems either. This is the first meeting in sixteen months, but Medvedev will fondly remember beating this opponent in three very comfortable sets at Roland Garros two years ago.

We should have a more competitive match than that under a likely roof with poor weather forecasted, but Daniil Medvedev can still come out on top and cover the spread set for the Second Round match.

Casper Ruud - 6.5 games v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: There was nothing to really worry Casper Ruud in the First Round and he made relatively easy work of his opponent just days after winning the Geneva title. He has reached the Final in back to back years at the French Open, but the last player to beat Ruud who was not called Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal will be standing on the other side of the net in this Second Round match.

He only missed out on a Seeding spot so this might be as tough a match as Casper Ruud could face when going up against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The Spaniard is well versed on playing on the clay courts, but confidence has to have been dented by his 1-4 record on the surface leading into Paris. The First Round win was expected, but Alejandro Davidovich Fokina perhaps made it a touch more difficult than it should have been and further underlines the feeling that he is playing without a lot of confidence.

However, it makes him dangerous that there is 'nothing to lose' and there is no doubting that Davidovich Fokina can produce some top clay court tennis.

We know Alejandro Davidovich Fokina can return very well, but his serve has really not been up to scratch and that could be exploited by Casper Ruud.

The expectation is that there will be competitive games and one, perhaps two sets could be very tight, but you have to lean towards the more confident Casper Ruud to get this done. He will remember losing to Davidovich Fokina at Roland Garros, but this is a good opportunity to earn revenge behind a strong win.

Elina Svitolina - 4.5 games v Diane Parry: These days Elina Svitolina is treated like an honourable Frenchwoman having married Gael Monfils, but the crowd might be a little more split than usual when the Ukrainian takes to the courts of Roland Garros.

A loud, vocal support helped Elina Svitolina come from behind to beat Karolina Pliskova in the First Round, but there will be plenty supporting Diane Parry in this Second Round match that may have to be played under the roof.

It will certainly help the atmosphere grow that much more, and the 21 year old Frenchwoman will be looking for revenge having lost in her home country against Elina Svitolina last week in Strasbourg. Diane Parry also had to come from a set behind to beat a compatriot in the First Round so she may be ready for the split loyalties the crowd will be faced with and instead has to focus on her tennis.

Prior to this tournament, Diane Parry had been struggling for form with a single win on the clay courts and so there is a significant gap to bridge.

She will also gain some confidence from the fact that Elina Svitolina has been struggling for consistency on the red dirt, even if the French Open Quarter Finalist from 2023 has shown how well she can take to this surface.

The strengths of the players might be going up against one another here- Diane Parry may feel her serve can set up a few more easier points, but Elina Svitolina is a very strong return player and that has shown throughout her clay court season.

It was the Elina Svitolina return which won the day when the players met in Strasbourg, but this is expected to be a tough test for the higher Ranked player. Diane Parry has to believe that it won't take much to turn things around in the match up after the defeat last week, but the overriding feeling is that Elina Svitolina will find a way to frank the form in a good looking Second Round match.

Madison Keys - 4.5 games v Mayar Sherif: The American has been more comfortable on the clay courts than you may expect and Madison Keys is certainly capable of having a deep run at the French Open in 2024.

She won the title in Strasbourg last week to build confidence, while runs in Madrid and Rome were both ended by Iga Swiatek, who has been the dominant clay court player on the women's side of the sport for some time.

After winning in the First Round without breaking a sweat, Madison Keys has to expect a bit more of a challenge from Mayar Sherif.

Last year Mayar Sherif reached a career best World Ranking of Number 31, but she is back outside of the top 50 heading into this tournament. Much like Madison Keys, Sherif made easy work of a First Round opponent, while she has reached back to back clay court Finals in the two weeks prior to the start of the French Open.

Losses in those Finals will have hurt, but they have been a part of a strong run of form for Mayar Sherif and that makes her dangerous and to be respected. At her best, the Egyptian can match the serving output that Madison Keys will expect from her own game, but whether Sherif can do that for long enough to win the match is another question altogether.

A competitive set cannot be ruled out, but Madison Keys may be able to then get on top and exert her extra qualities on the match. She has a slightly stronger returning numbers this season and that may be the big difference maker for Keys as she looks to march into the Third Round.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Casper Ruud - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)

Elina Svitolina - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Madison Keys - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

French Open Update: 6-1, + 7.40 Units (14 Units Staked, + 52.86% Yield)

French Open Tennis Day 4 Picks 2024 (Wednesday 29th May)

The update from the Tuesday matches will be placed in this thread, but the tournament moves onto the Second Round and these are the selections from Day 4 at Roland Garros.

Andrey Rublev - 6.5 games v Pedro Martinez: The First Round win over Taro Daniel may have been a little tougher than expected, but Andrey Rublev was still a relatively comfortable four set winner. Picking up a Masters title in Madrid will certainly have Rublev believing he can finally end his wait for a place in the Semi Final or better at a Grand Slam.

However, results outside of that tournament have been pretty poor on the clay courts and there is going to need to be a significant improvement if the World Number 6 is going to crack through the Quarter Final stage.

He cannot take any opponent for granted and will have to respect Pedro Martinez and his capabilities on the clay courts. The Spaniard is still operating within the top 50 of the World Rankings and there is little doubt that Martinez has produced his best form on the clay courts, a surface that would have been very familiar to him when growing his way onto the Tour.

An almost four hour, five set win is not ideal preparation for Pedro Martinez, but the comfort of playing on this surface will help. He has also won a title on the clay courts this season, while reaching the Final in two other events, albeit at a lower level than the one where Andrey Rublev was successful.

Pedro Martinez has beaten Casper Ruud on the clay this season, but he has also suffered some one-sided defeats to top 50 Ranked opponents on the surface. The numbers suggest he may struggle to get into the return games and that should aid Andrey Rublev in being able to eventually wear down and pull away from this Second Round obstacle.

When these two met at the US Open in 2021, the first two sets were incredibly competitive before Rublev was able to turn the screw. This one should be a bit closer, but the Russian player can still find a way to cover this handicap mark with a set being won by a wide margin.

Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 games v Fabian Marozsan: It would be a real surprise if either of these players was involved in the business end of the French Open, but solid First Round wins will have given both Grigor Dimitrov and Fabian Marozsan some confidence to take into this match.

Straight sets wins in the opening Round of a Grand Slam will provide a real boost to any player, especially on the Men's side of the tournament where the best of five set format increases the importance of winning without being overly taxed.

The wins for Fabian Marozsan and Grigor Dimitrov are perhaps a little surprising in how comfortable they were considering the lack of consistency shown on the surface prior to Roland Garros. At least Dimitrov can point to having a winning record, even when facing relatively early defeats, but Fabian Marozsan had only produced a 2-4 record on the clay before his First Round win in Paris.

The wins might not have been forthcoming this season, but Fabian Marozsan has shown he is a decent enough clay court player in previous years. Last year he had a solid run at the Rome Masters, but the majority of the stronger results produced by the Hungarian have been at Challenger level and that has perhaps been underlined by the tough time he has had on the the red dirt over the last two months.

Grigor Dimitrov has long had decent enough numbers on the clay courts without having the results to back those up- the serve has been in decent nick on the surface, but Dimitrov has been held back by inconsistent returning and so the performance in the First Round will make him feel a lot better.

This is the first time these two players will be facing one another on the Tour, but Grigor Dimitrov may just use all of his previous experiences to edge past this opponent and do enough to cover this spread.

Liudmila Samsonova - 2.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: There is still time on her side in order to fulfil the kind of potential most believe Amanda Anisimova has had, but it has been a tough couple of years for the 22 year old.

She returned to the Tour earlier this year and is currently the World Number 231, but this is a talented player who looked capable of winning a Grand Slam before personal issues perhaps made it tough to focus on her tennis.

The clay court season has not been the best for Amanda Anisimova who has a 2-3 record on the surface after edging past Rebecca Sramkova in the First Round. She had won sets, but Amanda Anisimova had lost three matches in a row on the surface prior to the win here in Paris and will know that this is a much tougher match on paper.

It has not been a clay court season for Liudmila Samsonova to write home about, but three wins in Strasbourg last week will have restored some confidence. We saw evidence of that in her crushing First Round win over Magda Linette and Samsonova may believe her first serve can give her the edge when it comes to trying to beat Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday.

The American has to be respected having reached the Semi Final at the French Open in 2019 and taking the first set against Ashleigh Barty before going down in three sets. However, Amanda Anisimova looks to be some way below that level in her current rebuilding mode and ultimately that should show up in this Second Round match.

Two wins over Liudmila Samsonova will give Anisimova confidence, especially as one was at the Australian Open earlier this year. She was much less match hardened for that match, but the change in surface may just aid Samsonova who can come through in two competitive sets.

MY PICKS: Andrey Rublev - 6.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Grigor Dimitrov - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Liudmila Samsonova - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

French Open Update: 5-1, + 5.80 Units (12 Units Staked, + 48.33% Yield)

French Open Tennis Day 3 Picks 2024 (Tuesday 28th May)

The first few days of the French Open are going to be busy for myself, so the threads will mainly be focusing on putting a few thoughts down noting why selections are being made.

The update from the tournament will be added as soon as Day 2 is completed.

Alex De Minaur - 7.5 games v Alex Michelsen: The 20 year old Alex Michelsen is continuing his surge up the World Rankings and he is operating at a career best number, but like so many American players, the clay courts are a real learning experience for him. This is a talented player, but many from the States are used to the hard courts and the relative quickness of the courts compared with the patient approach needed to constructing points on the clay.

He has found that tough to do, although a couple of wins in Geneva last week will have given Alex Michelsen a boost in confidence ahead of a first match in Paris.

Prior to the two wins last week, Michelsen had won just two of the nine matches played on the clay courts this season and is lack of experience has been telling. The service numbers have really taken a dent with Alex Michelsen not getting as many cheap points as he may do on the faster surfaces, while the inexperience on the red dirt has not helped when it comes to constructing return points.

The First Round match is not against the strongest clay court player, but Alex De Minaur is competent enough on the surface.

He has not had a lot of wins on the clay over the last several weeks, but De Minaur has not been given too many kind draws and defeats to the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas can be forgiven. The Australian did beat Nadal in Barcelona before losing to the Spaniard in Madrid, while Alex De Minaur has beaten the players he would have expected to beat and perhaps lost to those he wouldn't expect to better.

The serve can be vulnerable, but De Minaur looks to be the stronger player when it comes to the return and he should be able to beat Alex Michelsen with some comfort by the time all is said and done.

Alex Michelsen did beat Alex De Minaur earlier this season, but that was on a hard court and the latter can earn some revenge with a big win in the First Round at the second Grand Slam of the season.

Casper Ruud - 7.5 games v Felipe Meligeni Alves: The majority of the top contenders usually avoid playing in the week prior to a Grand Slam beginning, but playing in Geneva has proved a good building block for Casper Ruud. He won that title for a third year in a row on Saturday and has followed the last two by reaching the French Open Final, albeit coming up short against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

With so much uncertainty surrounding some of the other contenders, Casper Ruud fans have to believe that their man can go one better this time around.

He has long been one of the better clay court players and Casper Ruud has won two titles on the surface in the lead up to the French Open. He also reached the Final at the Monte Carlo Masters, although the relatively early losses in Madrid and Rome were disappointing.

Casper Ruud will begin his French Open bid on Tuesday so he should be well rested by the time he is asked to take to the court. Being one of the top Seeds, Ruud has also benefited from a kind looking First Round draw, even if Felipe Meligeni Alves is going to be very comfortable on this surface.

The Brazilian reached a new career high World Ranking last month, but he is yet to have cracked the top 100 and so might be a little hardened to the conditions in Paris having coming through three Qualifying Rounds to earn a spot in the main draw. That will help Felipe Meligeni Alves mentally, but this is a significant step up in class compared to the opponents he has beaten to enter the First Round and the general level on which he operates.

Felipe Meligeni Alves has won four matches against top 100 Ranked opponents on the clay courts this season to improve his career mark to five wins against such opponents. However, Meligeni Alves was well beaten by Lorenzo Musetti earlier this month who is the second highest Ranked opponent that he has played on the clay.

This is the first time these players are meeting so it may take Ruud a bit of time to understand what is coming back his way, but in a best of five set match, the expectation is that the World Number 7 will pull clear as it progresses.

Elena Rybakina - 6.5 games v Greet Minnen: An illness meant Elena Rybakina was not able to defend the title she won in Rome last year, but a couple of solid tournaments on the clay courts will have given the World Number 4 real belief ahead of her return to Paris. Last season she was not able to compete in the Third Round match at the French Open, but Elena Rybakina has shown enough on the clay courts in the last couple of years to believe she is a genuine threat to win the title.

Being in the opposite half of the draw to Iga Swiatek will help, although the World Number 1 remains the clear favourite to win the title.

Barring an upset on Monday, that will still be the case when Elena Rybakina takes to the court, but the focus has to be on winning this match and getting her own tournament off to a strong start.

Elena Rybakina and her team have to be happy with the draw that has pitted her agaisnt Greet Minnen in the opening Round.

The Belgian player has dropped down to World Number 86 after a poor run of results on the clay courts over the last couple of months. Greet Minnen has not had a single win against someone Ranked inside the top 100 and she has lost four matches in a row, while she has also suffered some one-sided defeats on the red dirt in 2024.

A major problem for Greet Minnen is that her second serve has proven to be a real weakness in her game and you have to believe Elena Rybakina will be able to exploit that. It has added up to pressure on the Minnen return game, but she will struggle to get a lof of joy from Rybakina barring a poor serving day from one of the favourites.

It is unlikely and Elena Rybakina may be able to get her French Open tournament off to a strong start.

MY PICKS: Alex De Minaur - 7.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Casper Ruud - 7.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Elena Rybakina - 6.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)

French Open Update: 2-1, + 0.88 Units (6 Units Staked, + 14.67% Yield)

French Open Day 2 Tennis Picks 2024 (Monday 27th May)

You could hear the audible gasp when Rafael Nadal's name was placed next to Alexander Zverev as the French Open draw was being made on Thursday.

The second Grand Slam of the season will begin on Sunday, but all of the focus in the lead up was surrounding Nadal and whether the fourteen time Champion would be ready to compete.

For some time it has felt like this would be the last time the Spaniard would compete at the French Open and there is a real belief that Rafael Nadal may choose to end his career after the Olympics (which are also played on these courts).

This could not have been a tougher draw for Rafael Nadal, who has had some mixed results on the clay courts, but if he can find a way to get through the First Round, maybe we will have the fairytale ending that Nadal, his family and fans would all be hoping for.

It has been a difficult time for a number of the big names in Men's Tennis and this may mean we are going to have a much more open tournament than expected.

Five players are set as single digits when it comes to the outright market, but there have to be questions about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have both been dealing with injuries. Novak Djokovic is the defending Champion, but is clearly not so happy with his form that he has made a rare decision to play in the week prior to the Grand Slam beginning.

Alexander Zverev won in Rome and may take a huge amount of stopping if he was to beat Rafa Nadal in the First Round, while both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud are very solid clay courters who have won decent titles on the surface.

The Women's event looks a bit more straight-forward- if Iga Swiatek is anywhere near her best, she wins a third straight French Open title and the fourth in five years. She has won the big events in Madrid and Rome and Swiatek will be very tough to beat on these courts, although the World Number 1 does have a couple of potential dangerous floaters that will need to be seen off between now and June 8th.

It is no surprise that Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina come next in the market, but the top Seed is the clear favourite here.

There has been a break in the Tennis Picks and that was largely down to a very disappointing opening three months with some bad fortune attached to some poor selections.

The Australian Open was particularly disappointing so it does mean taking a step back to more two forward is the best approach and one that makes sense in what is a very long season.

After this tournament, the next focus will be on Wimbledon which begins in early July and the hope is to put two very solid Grand Slam returns together.

The First Round at the French Open is split over three days and the uncertainty about when matches are going to be played means some of the threads may be longer than others until me move into the Second Round on Wednesday.

In Melbourne it was a game in which the Picks were trailing right from the off, so there is a hope and expectation to make a stronger start in Paris and lay a solid foundation for a good tournament.

Alexander Zverev - 1.5 sets v Rafael Nadal: Despite the hopes of the broadcasters, Rafael Nadal has gotten his wish of having this First Round match played in the day session at Roland Garros on Monday.

It is the match of the Round, but Nadal is well aware that his best chance of upsetting Alexander Zverev is playing in the hot part of the day when his spins can really be ramped up.

Using the word 'upset' in association with Rafael Nadal at the French Open would usually have been in relation to his opponent having a chance of beating the 14 time Champion in Paris. The Spaniard has only lost three times at this tournament and by only two men, but Nadal looks to have settled on this being his last year on the Tour and he has simply not looked the same level of player as he once was.

He played pretty well in Madrid, but Nadal has suffered early losses in Barcelona and Rome and his numbers have simply backed up the fact that he is not on the level he could once produce.

In saying all that, it is still Rafael Nadal playing on the red dirt at the French Open and ruling him out completely would be a mistake.

However, the draw has been pretty unkind as he prepares to face the Rome Champion Alexander Zverev who is also one of the favourites to life the title here. Prior to the title run in the Italian Capital, Zverev had produced some mixed results on the clay courts, while there will be painful memories of the last time he faced Rafael Nadal on this court when he suffered a serious injury that ruled him out for multiple months.

The German has reached the Semi Final at Roland Garros in each of the last three years and so should be pretty comfortable on the surface too. The serve will be a key weapon for Alexander Zverev and the fact he has beaten Nadal on a clay court before should also help as he looks to get the better of the faded Champion.

Pressure can do funny things and Zverev will know there is a sense of expectation around him for this match, but he has enough experience to handle things. Rafael Nadal is expected to be competitive at moments, but the lack of matches and the quality of Alexander Zverev should see the higher Seed move through in three or four sets.

Cameron Norrie - 1.5 sets v Pavel Kotov: There is not expected to be a lot of British interest at the French Open when we reach the business end of this tournament, but one of the better hopes may be Cameron Norrie.

It has been a tough year for the left-hander who has slipped out of the top 32 in the World Rankings, which means the likelihood of having tougher opening Round draws at the Grand Slam events. His clay court season has been mixed since April, but Norrie has seen the problems thaat come with a dropped World Ranking as he has suffered early losses to the likes of Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, two very capable clay courters who are amongst the favourites at the second Grand Slam of the season.

On paper this looks a tough, but winnable First Round match for the British player as he prepares to face Pavel Kotov.

The Russian has reached a new career high World Ranking earlier this month, and he has had some decent results on the clay courts in the build to the French Open. The results have been more mixed when only accounting for matches against players Ranked in the top 100, while Kotov has lost four of the five matches played against top 50 Ranked opponents on the clay courts.

It feels like Cameron Norrie will have the edge when it comes down to the serve and that may ultimately give him the opportunity to win this one. He has played well when facing opponents outside of the top 20 of the World Rankings, and Cameron Norrie may just have the majority of the Break Point opportunities through the course of this match.

Cameron Norrie dominated the match when facing Pavel Kotov on the clay courts of Barcelona in April 2023, but the latter should show his improvements made over the last thirteen months. However, Norrie may still be the superior player and can show that by moving through to the Second Round behind a three or four set win.

Marketa Vondrousova - 5.5 games v Rebeka Masarova: She reached the Final at Roland Garros in 2019 and Marketa Vondrousova will be the defending Wimbledon Champion when the tournament gets underway in South West London in July.

However, the World Number 6 can flatter to deceive at times and her record at the French Open since losing to Ashleigh Barty in the 2019 Final has been pretty poor.

The left-hander will get her tournament underway on Monday and this does look a good chance to open with a solid win when facing Rebeka Masarova.

The Spaniard has slipped down the World Rankings and is barely clinging onto a top 100 Ranking these days, while her tournaments in Madrid and Rome ended relatively quickly. In the main, Masarova has decided to rebuild by dropping down a level and her clay court numbers will not really give Marketa Vondrousova too much to worry about.

Much more will depend on what kind of mood Vondrousova is in herself having had a pretty quiet clay court season outside of a good run in Stuttgart. The serve can be a vulnerable weapon at times and that will offer Rebeka Masarova some encouragement, although the Czech player should be good enough on the returning side of her tennis to keep the lower Ranked player under some pressure.

In the main, Marketa Vondrousova has been too good for the players Ranked outside of the top 50 that she has faced on the clay courts. She had won twelve of those matches in a row before losing to Anhelina Kalinina last week in Strasbourg and the feeling is that the former Finalist will begin a new run on Monday with a pretty comfortable win.

The only previous match between these two players was played on a hard court in 2023 and Masarova won just two games on that day. On the clay courts you would have to expect the Spaniard to be more competitive than that, but Marketa Vondrousova should be able to win one set by a wide enough margin to set her on her way to a win and cover. 

MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 1.5 Sets @ 1.57 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Cameron Norrie - 1.5 Sets @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Marketa Vondrousova - 5.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Boxing Picks 2024- Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall II (Saturday 25th May)

It has been a long time coming... But it was absolutely worth the wait!

The feeling had been that it might not be the most entertaining Heavyweight clash, but there was no doubting the importance of a first Undisputed World Title fight for twenty five years.

However, all credit has to be given to both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk who gave the fans a fight that will long be remembered.

Personally I thought Fury had been in very good form through the first six Rounds and looked to have hurt Usyk, but the Ukrainian has shown many times before that he can make the in-fight adjustments to turn things back in his favour. Once again he did that and the unbelievable Ninth Round will live long in the memory as we eventually had the right winner announced on the night and a genuine reason to have a rematch later in the year.

That would likely mean the IBF World Title is vacated and will be contested by Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois in early June with the winner lined up to take on Anthony Joshua in Autumn.

The only positive is that after the rematch between Usyk-Fury, we should hopefully be in line for another Undisputed Heavyweight fight much sooner than the twenty-five year gap between the one last Saturday and the Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield one in 1999. If Tyson Fury was to earn revenge in the expected rematch in October, the trilogy could make most sense for both fighters before they potentially walk off into the sunset, but there are a host of contenders now lining up to try and take over where they can and the Heavyweight Division has certainly come alive over the last several months.

There were some solid undercard results- Jai Opetaia is once again a Cruiserweight World Champion, while Anthony Cacace earned a World Title of his own after upsetting Joe Cordina.

Eyes will have begun to have been turned to the Five vs Five taking place in Riyadh a week on Saturday, but there is a big night in the United Kingdom in between the two Saudi events.

Last weekend we also had two upsets over in the United States and the Lightweight and Welterweight Division will have been given a jolt by the results seen. Denys Berinchyk's win over Emanuel Navarrete will have opened up a number of doors when it comes to a potential Unification in the Lightweight Division, while Brian Norman Jr became the Interim WBO Welterweight World Champion, a position that will be upgraded on August 3rd when Terence Crawford moves up to win a World Title in the Light Middleweight Division.

Much like Berinchyk, Brian Norman Jr was quick to mention a couple of the other Interim World Champions in the Welterweight Division and the next generation after Crawford and Errol Spence Jr could give up some big nights over the next twelve to eighteen months.

Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall II

In February 2022, Josh Taylor was the Undisputed Light Welterweight Champion having collected all of the Belts and he was a pretty significant favourite to see off Jack Catterall and then potentially move up to Welterweight to challenge the likes of Terence Crawford or Errol Spence Jr.

After a strong career, things seemed to unravel on the night and I am not the only person out there who thought Catterall had done enough to upset The Tartan Tornado.

Boxing does what Boxing does at times and it was actually Taylor who had his hand raised at the end of Twelve Rounds, despite also being put on the floor by Jack Catterall. Both fighters had a point deducted in what was a messy bout, but it felt like the Challenger had done just enough and there has been a personal issue between them ever since.

Josh Taylor has been dealing with injuries that have postponed the rematch a number of times, and he then decided to face Teofimo Lopez in New York City instead. That meant defending the last of the four Belts he had collected, but Taylor was beaten pretty comfortably and there has to be a real question about how much he has left in the tank with the long layoffs between fights.

Jack Catterall has every right to be frustrated with the decision from the first fight, but it was a real disappointment to not see him capitalise on the situation. Having the World Titles would have made a difference, but Catterall has allowed his career to stagnate while waiting for this rematch and this is only the third fight since Taylor-Catterall 1.

Wins over Darragh Foley and Jorge Linares won't have had many clamouring to see Jack Catterall take on the World Champions, but he can reignite things by beating Josh Taylor. He remains decently Ranked by all four bodies and working with Matchroom should mean Jack Catterall will be in line for another World Title shot if he can exorcise this mental demon.

It is Jack Catterall who will be going into the main event as the favourite- there are certainly more questions about Josh Taylor and the inactivity, injury and how much more motivation he has left in the tank. All of the right things are being said, which is not a surprise, but you do have to wonder if Taylor really believes he can become a two weight World Champion having struggled to make Light Welterweight for some time, but still not moving up.

This makes me feel that Taylor doesn't have the same desires as he once did, especially as Welterweight is now filled with some tough, tough fighters, but perhaps not those that would have given him the same kind of financial reward as fighting Bud Crawford or Spence Jr would have done.

In saying all that, it is not easy to back Jack Catterall considering how relatively one-paced he has looked in his last couple of fights. He is not the most exciting fighter, which can put off fans as well as judges against an aggressive fighter like Josh Taylor, but this is a main event where you can sit back and toss a coin.

Last week Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury surprised us all with the kind of excitement produced, but we have seen Taylor-Catterall once before and something similar might be seen. Another close decision either way is likely, although my lean would be that a slightly more motivated Jack Catterall may come through and edge Josh Taylor towards retirement.

The best Josh Taylor beats the best Jack Catterall (and I've long been a huge fan of Taylor and what he has achieved), but we have simply not seen the best of Taylor for a long time and you have to question how much is left in the tank.

The main event will be making the headlines, but there is a decent enough undercard this weekend, in between the two big cards in Saudi Arabia.

While not going to be as deep as those cards, there are still some interesting contests here in Leeds.

Gary Cully is looking to show how much he has learned from his one defeat by taking on a veteran in Francesco Patera.

He has to be careful not to get overly carried away about becoming the first to Stop Patera, especially as Cully showed he can be baited into a defeat. He should be good enough to come through on the cards, but this is much closer than some have listed.

Another Irishman looking to showcase his talents on the undercard, Paddy Donovan, is fighting Lewis Ritson, who is well known to UK fight fans. The latter has not really reached the heights that were once tipped for him and he is heading up to Welterweight for this one having been Stopped in his last outing at Light Welterweight by Ohara Davies.

A fourteen month layoff is not ideal and Paddy Donovan is certainly someone who hits very big and could be ready to make a statement and try and steal the show.

The Five vs Five Queensberry vs Matchroom card is taking place in Riyadh next week, but the two rival promoters are working together more than ever.

Last week it was Queensberry who earned bragging rights when Anthony Cacace beat Joe Cordina, but Eddie Hearn is confident in Cheavon Clarke, an unbeaten Cruiserweight contender who is hoping to put the British Title around his waist before moving up the World Rankings.

There are some talented fighters in this Division, domestically and on the World stage, and this is an opportunity for Clarke.

He is facing Ellis Zorro who was last seen being wiped out in a single Round by Jai Opetaia in December, but who did pick up a European Title prior to that.

Ellis Zorro has had some solid wins as he has gotten the most out of his career, but you do have to wonder how he has recovered from what was a devastating Knock Out defeat.

You do have to point out that defeat was against a genuinely World level fighter and arguably the man to beat at Cruiserweight, but it will have really dented the confidence and someone like Cheavon Clarke will test the Ellis Zorro resolve.

The unbeaten Cruiserweight has shown considerable punching power in his early professional career and the feeling is that Clarke will showcase more of that in this one. Ellis Zorro will come to fight, which should help Cheavon Clarke, and the latter might be able to put a statement win on the board before chasing some of the bigger names in the Division.

At one point he would have been headlining big cards on Saturday evening in the United Kingdom and Lawrence Okolie had signed with Boxxer hoping to Unify the Cruiserweight Division before moving up to Heavyweight.

The plan to hit the marquee Division has not changed, but Okolie would not have anticipated losing to former stablemate Chris Billam-Smith.

It was a really poor performance and almost exactly one year has passed.

The Sauce returns on Friday night and has to travel to Poland where he is taking on Lukasz Rozanski, who has surprisingly been out of the ring even longer than his opponent. The last time we saw the Pole, he was crushing Alen Babic in a single Round for the Bridgerweight World Title and this might be a sign that Lawrence Okolie is now bulking his way up towards the Heavyweight Division.

He will have to be careful.

This might not be a fighter of real note, but Lukasz Rozanski has already displayed he carries plenty of power and he will likely come right out of the traps looking for Lawrence Okolie.

However, that might be music to the ears of Okolie as long as he is ready to let his hands go, a criticism he faced in the losing effort to Billam-Smith. The former Cruiserweight World Champion has admitted that he has worked on this and Joe Gallagher is the latest trainer trying to help Okolie maximise his potential.

This could develop into a firefight as long as Lawrence Okolie is willing to trade with his opponent, one who will come forward, but who should be predictable and one paced.

With his big levers, Lawrence Okolie could really find a home for his right hand and counter Rozanski onto something big and he might just announce his return with some style.

The final fight making some headlines this week involves the return of Christian Mbilli who continues to make his name in Canada.

We last saw him winning in January and Mbilli is expected to take a big step up later in the year, as long as he can get through this one.

Mark Heffron is well known to UK Boxing fans, and this is an unexpected opportunity for him- the Third Round loss to Jack Cullen looked to be a career ender for the thirty-two year old, but Heffron still feels there is something left in the tank.

One victory over a journeyman has been parlayed into this big fight in Canada and Mark Heffron feels he has nothing to lose.

However, the punch resistance was concerning against Cullen, who is not exactly in wonderful winning form either side of that fight, and Christian Mbilli might be able to find the big shots early enough to force a Stoppage before announcing a big fight for the summer.

MY PICKS: Paddy Donovan to Win Between 1-5 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Cheavon Clarke to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Lawrence Okolie to Win Between 1-6 @ 3.00 William Hill (2 Units) 

Boxing 2024: 21-33, + 15.17 Units (74 Units Staked, + 20.50% Yield)

NBA PlayOffs 2024- Conference Finals Picks Game 1-4 (May 21-28)

Four teams remain after a dramatic Conference Semi Final Round in the NBA PlayOffs 2024 and you could argue that only one of those remaining will have been tipped to get to the Conference Finals.

A huge increase in pressure is going to be on the shoulders of the Boston Celtics after the Number 1 Seed in the Western Conference and the defending Champions were both eliminated this past weekend.

And barring injuries, it is very difficult to imagine a situation where the Boston Celtics are not able to win at least four games out of seven against any of the teams left.

Take nothing away from a young, improving Minnesota Timberwolves team, or a hot shooting Indiana Pacers.

The Dallas Mavericks have a star player and some decent support around him, but for the majority of this season, the Boston Celtics have looked to have had the perfect balance and they are the strong favourites with a little over a month left of the NBA season.

A poor run for the Conference Semi Final Picks over the last four days has meant the positive returns have not been as great as they were looking before Friday evening. There is some frustration with that in mind, but the Conference Finals are a chance to bounce back.

Out of the four Rounds last season, this was the one with my worst results so this also feels like a personal opportunity to bounce back and look for a much stronger return all around.

The good news is that we do have a winning return from both the First Round and Conference Semi Final Rounds, but more work is to be done.

NBA Conference Finals Picks 2024- Games 1-4 (May 21st-28th)

Tuesday 21st May

Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics Game 1 Pick: The long time Eastern Conference favourites have made their way into the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Boston Celtics might be a little surprised about the opponent in front of them.

That was the case twelve months ago when the Number 8 Seeded Miami Heat had made their way through to the Conference Finals, but the Boston Celtics soon found themselves 3-0 down in that Series and ultimately were not able to complete the comeback in a 4-3 Series defeat.

It has fuelled the Boston Celtics season and they are not lacking for any motivation.

Out of the four teams remaining, the Celtics are strong favourites to win the NBA Championship, although that does mean the players have to show they can handle the pressure. They will be expected to be without Kristaps Porzingis in the first two games at home, but the Celtics are well rested after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games and they will have been focused on preparing for whichever team made it through from the other Series.

In saying that, most would have expected that to be the New York Knicks, but the injury bug really hurt the Number 2 Seeded team and it is the Indiana Pacers who have surprised all by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The Number 6 Seeded Pacers have already beaten the Milwaukee Bucks and the Game 7 win on the road over the New York Knicks will have given them a huge boost in confidence.

However, beating an injury hit opponent as they have done in the first two Rounds and now being able to knock off the top Seed in the Conference is a very different test. The Pacers will feel they have the depth and the shooting to stick with the Boston Celtics, but there is going to be a natural comedown after the levels reached in the Game 7 win on the road, especially with just a day of rest between games.

Rick Carlisle will need to make some big adjustments ahead of this Conference Finals, the first time he is Head Coaching in this Round since leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Championship in 2011. A lot of First Round exits or failing to reach the PlayOffs have been on his record since then, but Carlisle may feel his team have some destiny surrounding them having benefited from some of the uncontrollable factors like injury.

His team have given the Boston Celtics something to think about in the regular season, but Game 1 is at the TD Garden and a rested host might be able to control the Pacers.

We have become used to seeing Boston being asked to cover big spreads, but teams in the last couple of years in the Conference Finals have really struggled to deal with being asked to lay anything above 5 points. That was the case last year when those favourites were 0-7 against the spread in this Round, while home teams are 5-3 against the spread in Game 1 having seen both hosts fail to cover this time last year.

This should be a closer Series for the Boston Celtics than the last two have been, but they look rested and ready to open with a strong win.

Wednesday 22nd May

Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves Game 1 Pick: This has to be considered a surprising Western Conference Finals, despite the obvious improvements that both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks have made in the off-season and through the regular season.

Coming through a Game 7 against the defending Champions, the team that Minnesota have been built to beat, will have been a huge boost for the Timberwolves. They will have to overcome some history in the Western Conference Finals as teams that have played a Game 7 in a previous Series have struggled when facing an opponent that has not been pushed the distance.

They will hold home court in the Western Conference Finals, and being at home in Game 1 has to be an important factor for the Timberwolves. The Series starting on Wednesday will have given Minnesota a bit more time to get themselves mentally prepared for the Western Conference Finals and this is something that should help.

Minnesota are facing the surprising Dallas Mavericks who have beaten a couple of top four Seeds already on their way to the Western Conference Finals twelve months after failing to even finish in the top ten.

The victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder will have really helped the confidence of the Mavericks, especially considering the manner in which they won a couple of games in that Semi Final Series. Luka Doncic will be a key for Dallas and he should be grateful for the little bit of rest that he has been afforded between Series, but the Mavericks may need a bit more out of the likes of Kyrie Irving if they are going to reach the NBA Finals.

These teams met four times in the regular season and it was the Timberwolves who won three of those, all by a comfortable margin too. The pressure of the Western Conference Finals is going to be felt by all involved in this one and that may make games that much more competitive, but Minnesota might be able to ride the momentum of their Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and through into this Game 1.

They do look to match up well with the Dallas Mavericks and Anthony Edwards is growing as a force right in front of our eyes. Home teams had been starting well in the Conference Finals before 2023 and the Timberwolves can win and cover to open this one.

Thursday 23rd May

Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics Game 2 Pick: It was a special Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024, but this time the Boston Celtics managed to find a way to overcome the resistance of the underdog. Twelve months ago they were not able to do that against the Miami Heat, at least not early in the Series, but Boston have shown how much they have grown by forcing Overtime and then beating the Indiana Pacers to take a 1-0 lead.

Without a doubt the key moment was very late in the Fourth Quarter as Tyrese Haliburton turned the ball over with the Pacers up by three points and with 10 seconds left on the clock.

Even then, the failure to foul and instead allow Jaylen Brown to hit a game tying three pointer has been criticised, including by LeBron James. Head Coach Rick Carlisle has made it clear that the Pacers were going to foul, but Brown had found a spot on the court where the three pointer was on and risking a foul at that moment would have been a mistake.

No matter what, the Pacers will know they let Game 1 get away from them despite a stellar night shooting the ball again and with the Boston Celtics not producing the free-flowing Offensive output we have come to expect from them.

Bouncing back immediately is going to be a challenge for the Pacers- teams that have been involved in a close defeat in the Conference Finals have found it tough to be competitive again in the next game, while Game 1 winners at home have tended to back that up in Game 2.

In saying that, the Pacers are being given plenty of points in Game 2 and they will certainly feel they may match up with the Celtics without Kristaps Porzingis better than expected.

The 'under' has been a real feature of the Conference Finals in recent seasons, especially when the total has been as big as the one set for this game. However, a slightly improved three point shooting day from Boston will give Game 2 every chance of following Game 1 and heading over this mark set (Game 1 would have been an 'over' even if the game had been concluded in regulation time).

Both teams may continue to push the tempo and that could lead to plenty of points agian, even if Boston remain out of foul trouble. The spread looks tough to call, but backing Game 2 to surpass the total line set looks the route to go.

Friday 24th May

Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves Game 2 Pick: Despite the struggles of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw their role players step to the fore and help the team into a four point lead with four minutes left of Game 1.

Things soured from there with the team failing to add another point over the next three minutes and it was Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving that showed their star qualities throughout Game 1 to help the Dallas Mavericks take the lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Kyrie Irving had a big first half and it was Doncic who closed the show for the Mavericks as they edged to the victory. Now they go into Game 2 looking to really take a stranglehold of the Conference Finals, although the Timberwolves will be itching to get back onto the court and make amends for blowing the opener.

It feels that much worse when a big game from those outside of the star names is wasted, as it was in Game 1, but the Timberwolves have shown their character in the PlayOffs already. Many, including myself, thought they were done when losing three games in a row to the Denver Nuggets in the Semi Final Series, but this Minnesota team is growing in leaps and bounds.

Minnesota will have to make a couple of adjustments to just get a bit more efficiency out of their top two scoring options, while the Dallas Mavericks will be hoping for more of the same from the Irving-Doncic tandem. Those two players combined for 63 points in Game 1 and yet the Mavericks will feel that more is to come from the two considering their lack of consistency from the three point line.

In recent years the zigzag theory has worked best in the Conference Finals and teams playing after a defeat have a 25-12-1 record against the spread in their next game over the last thirty-eight games in that spot.

Big home favourites of 5 or more points have continued to struggle when it comes to covering the spread in recent Conference Finals games, but the Timberwolves may feel it won't take a lot to swing this one back in their direction.

The Mavericks will expect more out of their own role players, but this Timberwolves team is still very good Defensively and the home team can level up this Series before it shifts to Dallas for two games.

Saturday 25th May

Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers Game 3 Pick: Falling into a 2-0 hole in a PlayOff Series has not prevented the Indiana Pacers from making their way into the Eastern Conference Finals. However, it feels a much bigger task fighting back against the Boston Celtics compared with the shorthanded New York Knicks, and even more so if the Indiana Pacers are going to have one of their better players absent or limited in Game 3.

After giving their all and effectively throwing Game 1 away, the Indiana Pacers never recovered from a poor start to the Second Quarter of Game 2 and they were not really as competitive as they would have hoped. They have to hold onto the fact that the Boston Celtics have only 'held serve' by winning both games at the TD Garden, but there were one or two concerns coming out of Game 2 that will be worrying the Indiana fans.

First off is the fact that Rick Carlisle seemed to pull his key starters much earlier than would have been expected- after the game, the Head Coach admitted his team had been feeling the run of three road games in five days and so he felt it best not to risk those players in the Fourth Quarter with the team unlikely to narrow the deficit.

Those players should be ready to compete being back at home where Indiana have played so well in the PlayOffs and especially so if the rest has done them good.

However, the second concern has to be the sore hamstring that forced Tyrese Haliburton to sit out much of the second half. This was supposedly similar to the issues Haliburton had dealt with in the regular season and clearly impacted him and so the Indiana Pacers have to be really worried about competing with the top Seed if their best player is not quite able to play at full strength.

All of this points towards the Boston Celtics finding a way to try and close this Eastern Conference Finals as soon as possible and then begin preparing for the NBA Finals which begin in June. They would be keen to have Kristaps Porzingis return to the lineup before any extended break, but otherwise things are going smoothly for the Celtics who did what they needed to in a comfortable Game 2 win.

Slightly more efficient shooting in Game 2 compared with Game 1 helped the Boston Celtics pull away for a big win. They have yet to lock down Defensively, but Boston have to be comfortable with this match up and they could move to the brink of the NBA Finals on Saturday when travelling to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Celtics have won all four road games played in the post-season and all have been by at least 7 points with the top Seed exerting their power over opponents.

The switch in venue has tended to favour the hosts in recent Game 3s of the Conference Finals, while teams who lead 2-0 have only produced a 5-8 record against the spread in the last thirteen games in that spot. Those teams had been 3-8 against the spread before both the Nuggets and Heat covered in Game 3s while up 2-0 last year and Boston are certainly capable of keeping that going.

Indiana are coming off a 16 point loss in Game 2, but those teams losing by double digits are 8-2 against the spread in Game 3 so there is hope. However, you have to wonder if the Pacers have enough in the tank to beat a team with the qualities of the Boston Celtics, even in their return home, and laying the points looks the right play.

Sunday 26th May

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Dallas Mavericks Game 3 Pick: There is going to be some real disappointment in the Minnesota Timberwolves camp having blown a lead in both of the first two games of the Western Conference Finals. Instead of being potentially 2-0 ahead, late buckets have swung the game against them and they will be heading to Dallas 0-2 behind.

Turning this around is not going to be easy, but it is not impossible and Minnesota will know that having seen the Denver Nuggets fight back from the same position in the Conference Semi Finals.

However, there are one or two signs that will really concern fans of the Timberwolves and you do have to wonder if this young team have left much of themselves on the court when rallying to beat the defending Champions in the last Round. The Timberwolves had to win the last two games of that Series, including a Game 7 on the road, and evidence of fatigue has been seen as they have worn down in the Fourth Quarter of both of the games in the Western Conference Finals.

Anthony Edwards is trying, but is clearly not playing at his highest level, while Karl-Anthony Towns is struggling to such an extent that he was benched for key moments in the Game 2 defeat. Making adjustments now will be the key, but finding the energy that has clearly been missing down the stretch is much more difficult this deep into the post-season.

Things will feel much more comfortable for the Dallas Mavericks who have shown they can win on the road throughout their semi-surprising PlayOff run. The depth might not be as great as some of the other teams, but Luka Doncic has really stepped up to the plate and it was his big three pointer in the final seconds of Game 2 that turned the game in the Dallas favour for the last time.

The Mavericks will have to expect some kind of reaction, but they will also feel they have shown they have more energy all around when it comes down to the crunch and just staying with the Timberwolves early is enough. Simply put, Dallas have been much more efficient when it comes to the Fourth Quarter and so many NBA games have been decided in those moments, which has also been the case for Game 1 and 2 in the Western Conference Finals.

The shift in venue means a shift in favouritism, but the best play may be backing this to be the third game in a row that finishes above the total points line set.

Dallas look to have the momentum, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are shooting the ball well enough to believe they can contribute to this total being surpassed. The fatigue has affected the Defensive qualities and this should aid the Mavericks and another game where both teams reach the low 100s looks to be in play.

Monday 27th May

Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers Game 4 Pick: There is no doubting that the Series has been competitive, but the Boston Celtics have managed to find the big buckets when needed and are now one win away from returning to the NBA Finals.

Last year they were in the opposite position of being 3-0 down and managed to fight back against the Miami Heat, so nothing will be taken for granted. However, it is going to take a significant effort for the Indiana Pacers to turn this one around and especially knowing they will have to win at least twice on the road.

At this point merely getting this Series back to Boston might be seen as a big achievement for the Pacers who blew a big lead in Game 3.

An absent Tyrese Haliburton meant there was more pressure on the other players on the roster, but the Indiana Pacers continued to show the depth on the roster. They look like a team that could take some serious leaps in successes in the coming years by learning from the experiences faced in this post-season, but it does look to be coming to an end.

The fight shown will have given the fans much to be encouraged by, although the fact is that the Pacers have dropped Game 3 and that would have been a heavy blow to absorb for the players.

Being back at home will give Indiana a chance, but teams that are 0-3 down in the Conference Finals are 3-4-1 against the spread in the last eight in that spot. Those teams had been 2-4 straight up before last season when Boston managed to win Game 4 against the Miami Heat and took the Series back home.

The Celtics are going to be very comfortable about where they are at in this Conference Finals and they have shown that different players can lead the way for them on any given night. Even without Kristaps Porzingis, Boston have looked the best team in the East, and perhaps the NBA as a whole, and they may just be able to start better in this one.

If they can, Boston should be able to win this game and just about get over this spread set for the game.

Tuesday 28th May

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Dallas Mavericks Game 4 Pick: The trend in this Western Conference Finals is that the Minnesota Timberwolves have gotten into a position to win games, but ultimately been let down by a poor Fourth Quarter.

It happened again in Game 3 and the Timberwolves are now on the brink of exiting the PlayOffs and allowing the Dallas Mavericks to move forward to compete in the NBA Finals.

That would be a remarkable turnaround for a team that missed out on the PlayOffs completely twelve months ago, but Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic have led this team very effectively. The role players have done enough to back up the two superstars and there is little doubt Irving and Doncic have outplayed Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns at key moments.

The Mavericks lost the turnover and rebounding battle, but they had a very efficient day shooting the ball and ultimately the Timberwolves were not able to keep up in the Fourth Quarter. With KAT not performing near the level expected, Anthony Edwards has tried to put the team on his shoulders, while the Minnesota role players have been effective, but missing a real support for Edwards that would be needed to turn this Series back around.

It looks unlikely and the NBA have to be concerned about the gap between now and the NBA Finals starting on June 6th- both Conference Finals could be swept, and that will mean a significant gap before the Finals begin.

This is not to the concern of Boston or the Dallas Mavericks as they look to get things done without overextending themselves.

Home teams that have not faced elimination in Game 4 of the Conference Finals have been on a very strong run in this Round and every bit of momentum is with the Mavericks having shown their character to make the late buckets and win games. Much like mentioned in the preview for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, teams down 0-3 have struggled to be as competitive as they would like and the Minnesota Timberwolves might just feel they have given all they have and still come up short.

All Dallas can do is focus on making sure they do not give the Timberwolves any hope to replicate the Boston Celtics and fight back from 3-0 down to force a Game 7 as happened last year. Winning this one at home and then sitting down to prepare for the next challenge will be the only message Head Coach Jason Kidd will be handing down to his team and the Mavericks can win and cover for a fourth time in a row.

Thursday 30th May

Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves Game 5 Pick: It really has been a much more competitive Series than any potential sweep opportunity suggested, but the Dallas Mavericks will feel they let Game 4 get away from them.

Much like the first three games, the Mavericks weathered the early Minnesota Timberwolves storm before rallying for a late win. This time they made the mistakes in the closing minutes of the Fourth Quarter and that has allowed the Timberwolves to take Game 4 on the road.

Keeping the Western Conference Finals alive can only be positive news for the NBA, who would have been fearing a second sweep after the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. With better Fourth Quarter execution, the Timberwolves might have been returning home with an opportunity to move into the NBA Finals of their own, but they have dug a deep hole and the pressure is never that far.

However, you would not have guessed that from Anthony Edwards who has made his feelings known about making sure this Series goes back to Dallas for a Game 6.

Anthony Edwards has largely played a decent enough Series, but it was the revival of Karl-Anthony Towns that helped the Timberwolves hold off the Mavericks as the rally pushed forward. His big time three pointers late on helped Minnesota and they will need more from KAT, while also expecting the role players to play a strong outing at home.

Kyrie Irving did not have his best game, but Dallas will be expecting him to bounce back having been on the losing end of a potential close out game for the first time. An inefficient shooting day meant Irving was willing to take the blame for the Game 4 defeat on his own shoulders, although Luka Doncic was quick to do the same as Dallas look for an immediate response.

Last year we did see Boston fight back and return home for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals having erased a 0-3 deficit- that will give Minnesota something to aim for over the next few days, although going one better and becoming the first NBA team to win a best of seven Series when trailing 0-3 is the ultimate challenge.

Game 4 saw some of the scoring dry up, but that might change again when this Western Conference Finals shifts venue again. The total is set back down a couple of points compared with the last game and both teams have shown they can produce enough big moments to look for this one to surpass the total line set.

MY PICKS: 21/05 Boston Celtics - 9.5 Points @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

22/05 Minnesota Timberwolves - 4.5 Points @ 2.00 Paddy Power (1 Unit)

23/05 Boston Celtics-Indiana Pacers Over 224.5 Points @ 1.91 Coral (1 Unit)

24/05 Minnesota Timberwolves - 5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

25/05 Boston Celtics - 7 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

26/05 Dallas Mavericks-Minnesota Timberwolves Over 208.5 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

27/05 Boston Celtics - 8 Points @ 1.95 Bet365 (1 Unit)

28/05 Dallas Mavericks - 3 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

30/05 Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks Over 209.5 Points @ 1.91 Coral (1 Unit)

Conference Finals Update: 3-6, - 3.27 Units (9 Units Staked, - 36.33% Yield)

Conference Semi Final: 13-11, + 0.87 Units (24 Units Staked, + 3.63% Yield)

First Round: 22-17, + 3.27 Units (38 Units Staked, + 8.61% Yield)