The tournaments that are played in the Middle East tend to be concluded on Saturday and so we are already at the Quarter Final stage in Abu Dhabi, while the Second Round is completed in Rotterdam on Thursday.
For the second day in a row, there is one selection from each event in what has been a considered return to the Tennis Picks following the solid returns from the Australian Open.
Bigger events are coming up through the remainder of the month, which may offer up more selections, but we will see how that pans out when the tournaments come around and the only focus for now is on the Picks that are being made.
Belinda Bencic - 2.5 games v Marketa Vondrousova: The return to the Tour after becoming a mother could not have gone much better for Belinda Bencic and she taking full advantage of playing under a Protected Ranking or a Wild Card.
Last month she was able to surprisingly reach the Fourth Round at the Australian Open before losing to a top player in Coco Gauff and that effectively halved her World Ranking.
This week she entered the tournament in Abu Dhabi as the World Number 157, but two wins over top 52 Ranked opponents has helped Belinda Bencic reach the Quarter Final and her return continues to pick up serious momentum.
Next up is Marketa Vondrousova, who has also won two matches here and who also would have entered the Abu Dhabi tournament with something to prove.
Injury meant the World Number 37 was not able to play at the Australian Open, but Marketa Vondrousova has won all four sets played in this tournament and wins over Emma Raducanu and Yulia Putintseva have to be respected. Winning in the manner she has only makes Vondrousova more dangerous and any player that has a Grand Slam in the trophy cabinet can put together the tennis to win events like this.
The run has been surprising considering an injury suffered last month in Adelaide was enough to keep Marketa Vondrousova from attempting to play in the opening Grand Slam of 2025. The fact is that she had also missed all events in 2024 following an early exit as the defending Champion at Wimbledon, and both players will have something to prove.
Matches between these players have been competitive in the past, although this is the first time Belinda Bencic and Marketa Vondrousova are facing off since 2021 when they met twice in a short space of time at the Tokyo Olympics and Cincinnati Masters.
Both of those matches were won by Belinda Bencic and she does look the more likely winner of this Quarter Final on the form displayed over the last few weeks.
The first serve is going to be important for both players, but Bencic has looked a little more capable of protecting the second serve and that could prove to be the difference in a very close match. One concern for both is the amount of tennis being played in a short space of time having spent so much time away from the Tour, but Belinda Bencic has been playing with the confidence of a solid Australian Open behind her and she can edge out Marketa Vondrousova into the Abu Dhabi Semi Final ahead of big events in Doha and Dubai.
Stefanos Tsitsipas v Tallon Griekspoor: After watching Paula Badosa make such a big impact at the Australian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be hoping to take some inspiration into turning his own form around.
The First Round loss in Melbourne would have really stung and Stefanos Tsitsipas has fallen out of the top ten in the World Rankings, while he also had a difficult year on the hard courts in 2024.
Beating the World Number 138 in the First Round in Rotterdam might not be a match that will live long in the memory, but it could be key for Stefanos Tsitsipas to just have something to build upon in a busy six weeks before the Tour moves onto the clay court part of the season.
This Second Round match is going to be much tougher when going up against Tallon Griekspoor, who is going to be backed by the home fans and who has enjoyed his recent visits to Rotterdam. Only Jannik Sinner has found a way to stop the Griekspoor runs in the last couple of seasons, but the World Number 1 is not involved this week and the win over Matteo Berrettini showed how effective the World Number 43 can be on an indoor hard court.
His serve can be a huge weapon on the indoor courts and that was the key for Tallon Griekspoor to just get the better of Matteo Berrettini, although the Italian will be frustrated by his defeat.
One big issue that Tallon Griekspoor has is getting enough out of the return, but he will be confident in his ability to win matches when getting into tie-breakers and hoping the scoreboard pressure from his own serving can crack an opponent.
This has to be a concern for Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has not been serving as well as he can, but who did put a strong display on the board in his First Round win.
He will have the mental edge having crushed Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets as the Australian Open two years ago and it was a match where Stefanos Tsitsipas produced the much stronger serving. That will be the challenge for him again and this is expected to be competitive in front of Tallon Griespoor's fans, but Stefanos Tsitsipas can find a way to edge past the home hope.
MY PICKS: Belinda Bencic - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Stefanos Tsitsipas @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 1-1, - 0.17 Units (2 Units Staked, - 8.50% Yield)
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