Qualifiers have already begun for the WTA Doha tournament, which is the first big WTA 1000 event to be played in the Middle East this month, while the first of the Golden Swing events is played on the ATP Tour in Argentina.
Friday was a disappointment for the Tennis Picks with the sole selection going down in three competitive sets, but it has still been a solid enough week and finishing with a flourish is the challenge to end strong.
Alex De Minaur - 4.5 games v Mattia Bellucci: Italian tennis has been thriving over the last couple of years and Mattia Bellucci has already secured a new career high World Ranking thanks to his run to the Rotterdam Semi Final. Another upset would see Bellucci enter the top 60 of the World Rankings and wins over Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will have given the young player a huge amount of confidence.
Credit has to be given to Mattia Bellucci for playing the clutch moments as well as he has, particularly when he has been put under pressure on his own serve.
In the last two matches against Medvedev and Tsitsipas, Mattia Bellucci has faced 16 Break Points and he has managed to save 15 of those to earn the upsets over two players Ranked inside the top 12.
The lefty serve is traditionally one that orthodox players have struggled to deal with and that has been the case in 2025 with Bellucci managing to hold 90% of his service games played. That number is up at 95% for the tournament here in Rotterdam, although Mattia Bellucci is going to know that the challenge presented by Alex De Minaur on the return is another tough one to deal with.
Strong runs in Rotterdam have become a part of Alex De Minaur's early season form and that is the case again in 2025 with three very strong wins on the board. The draw has opened up for the Australian, but Alex De Minaur has taken advantage and he has been a dominant winner in all three matches.
He has served as well as Mattia Bellucci, but the edge for De Minaur is how well he has been returning and he is capable of putting the Italian under pressure by making sure he gets his teeth into rallies.
You cannot overlook how well Bellucci has handled the pressure against big names already this week, but he will need to keep that going and someone like Alex De Minaur is going to test him mentally and physically. As mentioned earlier this week, De Minaur has been very good when playing those he is expected to beat and the World Number 8 will begin next week higher than Novak Djokovic in the World Rankings with a win in this Semi Final.
Covering the spread will not be easy, but Alex De Minaur has been playing really well this week and wearing opponents down and he can do the same with Mattia Bellucci.
MY PICKS: Alex De Minaur - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 3-2, + 0.54 Units (5 Units Staked, + 10.80% Yield)
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