The two successful Tennis Picks on Saturday ensured the last week has finished with a slight profit and keeps the season totals in a positive position.
The two WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai have just closed out this side of the Tour as far as February is concerned with the top players focusing on Indian Wells and Miami coming up in March.
However, the ATP do have 500 events in Acapulco and Dubai to be played and those will be the focus for the Tennis Picks this week.
Acapulco is six hours behind the United Kingdom and that means any Picks from that tournament will have to be added to the daily threads. Any selections from Dubai will open things up and there are two on Monday when the First Round gets underway on Monday in what is going to be another tournament that ends with a Saturday Final.
Daniel Evans + 4.5 games v Karen Khachanov: Injury and a loss of form has seen Daneil Evans drop down to World Number 167, although the British player has to be grateful for being given a Wild Card into the main draw at the ATP 500 event in Dubai.
Wins have not been easy to find on the Challenger circuit so this is going to be a tough First Round match for Daniel Evans, despite the strong record against Karen Khachanov.
The World Number 21 cannot really point to any solid form of his own- Karen Khachanov won a couple of matches at the Australian Open, but has suffered opening defeats at the other four events in which he has played, including early last week in Doha.
That was a defeat to Daniil Medvedev, but the other three defeats suffered this season have not been against players that are Ranked inside the top 42.
Karen Khachanov is still serving well, but the return has dipped considerably in the early part of the season and that is going to offer some comfort to Daniel Evans as he steps back up to face this kind of level of opponent.
A lack of confidence has to be a factor that potentially works against Daniel Evans, but that head to head mentioned will help.
In their five previous meetings, it is Daniel Evans that has won all five and that includes beating Karen Khachanov at the US Open just a few months ago. That means even as the form has dipped, Evans has still found a way to beat the Russian and this makes the games being given to him to start this match feel very appealing to get on our side.
Daniel Evans has found a way to impact the Karen Khachanov serve and that will be important to his chances in this match.
Maintaining the winning run will be difficult, but Daniel Evans can certainly do enough to keep this one competitive enough.
Stefanos Tsitsipas - 1.5 games v Lorenzo Sonego: The defeat in Doha last week will have really hurt Stefanos Tsistipas.
His opponent looked to be struggling to move, but Tsitsipas was not able to win a final set tie-breaker and it has just left the World Number 11 struggling to find the consistency he would like. Winning matches and putting the solid results together can rebuild the confidence, and that is the task for Stefanos Tsitsipas over the next month and before the clay court season gets underway.
Playing in the ATP 500 event in Dubai means the tough challenges had to be expected pretty early on, and that is the case for Stefanos Tsitsipas who has been handed Lorenzo Sonego as a First Round opponent.
The Italian had a solid run at the Australian Open when reaching the Quarter Final, but he has not been playing a lot of tennis this month.
Lorenzo Sonego will be confident in his serving, and that has been the key for his successes and something he will use to try and build pressure on his opponent.
However, the main reason Sonego has not really kicked further ahead in the World Rankings is the weak returning numbers. He has yet to crack the top 20 in the World Rankings in his career and will head to Dubai as the World Number 36, which is largely down to the poorer return numbers.
He can pick up some momentum with a solid run in Dubai, but that will also mean beating Stefanos Tsitsipas for the first time.
It has been a couple of years since the two players last met on the Tour, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has won all three pro matches against Lorenzo Sonego. Those wins have been behind stronger serving numbers and the Greek player may just have the edge in this match, especially with his already being in the Middle East and Stefanos Tsitsipas can do enough to move through to the Second Round with a cover of this line set.
MY PICKS: Daniel Evans + 4.5 Games @ 1.66 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Stefanos Tsitsipas - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
2025 Season: 43-28, + 15.33 Units (109 Units Staked, + 14.06% Yield)
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