Tennis Picks 2025 (Saturday 15th February)

It has been a disappointing end to the week for the Tennis Picks and that was not helped with one losing selection and one player withdrawing after falling behind to the other selection made.

These things happen in a long season, but it does not lessen the frustration considering the start that was made to the week.

We still have time to turn things around across the weekend, although it does depend on the right spreads/prices being set by the layers as far as the selection criteria goes.

Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: There were plenty of big names involved in the tournament in Doha this week, which is no surprise as a WTA 1000 event, but the Final has to be considered an unexpected one.

Both Jelena Ostapenko and Amanda Anisimova have done very well to get to the Final and there is plenty on the line other than the title for the two players.

If Amanda Anisimova is able to win the title on Saturday, she will crack the top 20 of the World Rankings for the first time and the potential that many believed the American holds will perhaps begin to turn into on-court success. There is no doubting the talent, and all of Anisimova's wins in Doha have been against players Ranked at least 30.

This deserves respect and Amanda Anisimova has served with some consistency and that has allowed her to attack the return and put herself in strong positions in matches. Her performances here in Doha have also backed up a solid start to the 2025 season with big events in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami to be played on the hard courts before the clay court season gets underway.

All of the matches won and the level produced will give Amanda Anisimova a lot of confidence, but there is no doubting the same can be said for Jelena Ostapenko, who is a player that can be very difficult to stop once she gets on a roll like she has this week.

The fiery Latvian is a former Grand Slam Champion and reached as high as World Number, but only winning the title here on Saturday will push Jelena Ostapenko back into the top 20. She had not won a match before arriving in Doha, but you would not have guessed that having won every set at the tournament.

Making it more impressive is the fact that only two sets have seen Jelena Ostapenko give up more than three games.

You could accept that if Jelena Ostapenko had been given a kind draw, but she has beaten two of the top four and Ons Jabeur in the last three matches and none of those players have won more than four games against the former French Open Champion.

Jelena Ostapenko has crushed World Number 4 Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 and did the exact same to Ons Jabeur in the Quarter Final.

Perhaps most impressive is beating Iga Swiatek, the World Number 2, 6-3, 6-1 in the Semi Final and Jelena Ostapenko is making hay behind the first serve. Backing that up is the aggressive mentality on the return, which has seen Ostapenko win 55% of return points played in Doha and you have to give her the edge in the Final.

These two players actually met here in 2022 and it was Jelena Ostapenko who came through a very competitive match that needed all three sets to separate her from Amanda Anisimova.

It was the Jelena Ostapenko first serve that might have been the key shot in that Second Round match three years ago and the feeling is that it could just see the Final edge towards the Latvian too.

MY PICKS: Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-4, - 1.43 Units (7 Units Staked, - 20.43% Yield)