It was a solid Sunday, but a frustrating Monday for the Tennis Picks and another loaded day in Dubai is set to take place with the entire Second Round scheduled to be completed on the same day.
The top Seeds are in action for the first time in Dubai and the same can be said for the two ATP 500 events being played this week- Novak Djokovic is back after retiring from his Semi Final match at the Australian Open.
Any selections from Rio de Janeiro will be added to this thread, but the Picks that have been made are all from the WTA 1000 event.
Elina Svitolina - 2.5 games v Clara Tauson: Surprisingly, three years have passed since Clara Tauson reached her career high World Ranking.
At 22 years old, there is still so much potential for Clara Tauson to fulfil and this is a talented player who has made a very good start to 2025. A title has been secured and it was an illness that cost Clara Tauson in her match with Elise Mertens last week in Doha, while a loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open is not one that will have dented the confidence of a young player.
If she can put a couple more wins on the board in Dubai, Clara Tauson could be set to move into the top 30 of the World Rankings for the first time. Being Seeded at Grand Slam events can certainly help in her development and the Dane is someone deserving of plenty of respect.
Veteran Elina Svitolina is the Second Round opponent in a loaded Dubai draw and there is motivation to get back into the top 20 in the World Rankings, although the focus these days may be on trying to peak at a Grand Slam and finally win a Major.
Two early losses in tournaments since her Quarter Final run at the Australian Open has slowed some of the momentum, but Elina Svitolina was a dominant First Round winner and that will just give her a bit of belief ahead of this difficult match.
This should be a competitive Second Round match with both Clara Tauson and Elina Svitolina serving very well on the hard courts in 2025- both would like to get a few more first serves in play, but they have been very strong behind that shot and that has helped them protect the serve.
What could make the difference on the day is that Elina Svitolina has been returning with slightly stronger results and that may see her take advantage of the Tauson second serve.
It was Clara Tauson that won their only previous meeting, but that was on a clay court and Elina Svitolina can earn a measure of revenge by just winning the big points at key moments to secure a solid victory when all is said and done.
Coco Gauff - 5.5 games v McCartney Kessler: The World Number 3 will have been hugely disappointed with her Quarter Final exit at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff made a poor return to the Tour last week in Doha when losing in the Second Round to Marta Kostyuk.
One of the big issues that Gauff has been facing in 2025 is the second serve with a host of Double Faults just putting herself under pressure.
In recent years, Coco Gauff has had a solid serve- her first serve continues to be a big weapon for her when it lands, but the second serve has shown vulnerability in the last twelve months and it is affecting her overall tennis. Being put on the back foot by Double Faults, or predictable second serve placement, has just seen Coco Gauff falling a little back from the top two players in the world and it is certainly something she will be looking to improve.
The American faces a compatriot in the Second Round in Dubai this week in another WTA 1000 tournament and Coco Gauff will respect McCartney Kessler and the tennis she has been producing early this season.
McCartney Kessler beat four players Ranked higher than herself when winning the title in Hobart and she did win a couple of Qualifying matches to take her place in the main draw in Abu Dhabi. Last week she was beaten early in Doha, but McCartney Kessler beat Amanda Anisimova, the eventual Doha Champion, in the First Round here in Dubai and that is going to give the 25 year old a lot of confidence.
There may not be the really strong numbers behind the first serve that Coco Gauff can call upon, but McCartney Kessler has been pretty consistent behind the second serve and that will at least give her some chances to hold onto serve. The higher Ranked of the two players has been the more aggressive and successful returner of the compatriots and that can help Coco Gauff to just turn the screw on McCartney Kessler.
Some of the confidence levels may have dipped after consecutive losses, but Coco Gauff should still have too much for McCartney Kessler.
You have to credit the latter for some big results produced this season, but she has also been on the wrong end of some heavy defeats and Coco Gauff may just find the breaks of serve needed to clear this handicap mark.
Mirra Andreeva - 1.5 games v Marketa Vondrousova: There has been much hype around Mirra Andreeva and her potential after a couple of solid years on the Tour for the youngster.
She has yet to turn 18 years old and Mirra Andreeva has entered the Dubai tournament at a career high World Number 14 Ranking, but most expect improvement on that mark in the coming weeks.
A strong run in Dubai could take the Russian into the top ten, but the relatively early defeat in Doha in an upset last week is a reminder for Mirra Andreeva that she cannot look past any opponent. And that is particularly true as Andreeva faces off against a former Wimbledon Champion in the Second Round here in Dubai and an opponent who produced her best performance of 2025 in the First Round.
Marketa Vondrousova crushed Caroline Garcia in the First Round and the decision to miss the Australian Open and allow injuries to clear up looks to have been validated during this swing through the Middle East. She has already reached the Quarter Final in Abu Dhabi and Marketa Vondrousova is an effective hard court player who will feel she can have a positive impact in Dubai if she can get close to the level produced against Garcia on a consistent basis.
In the small sample produced in 2025, the second serve has been a little vulnerable for Marketa Vondrousova and that is an area that Mirra Andreeva will look to attack.
Of course, the former World Number 6 will feel she can play plenty of aggressive tennis of her own when it comes to the return and Mirra Andreeva is still growing as a server.
Her numbers have not been too bad- Andreeva does make use of the first serve and has protected the second serve about as well as any player on the Tour, barring perhaps the absolute elite servers on the WTA Tour. This serve will be tested by a player like Marketa Vondrousova who has shown she can be very good on the return on the hard courts over the last couple of years.
It will put some pressure on the teenager, but Mirra Andreeva may have additional confidence in the match up having beaten Vondrousova in Madrid on the clay last year. That is a clay court that plays faster than most in the build up to the French Open and Mirra Andreeva may showcase her talent by beating a former Grand Slam Champion for a second time and with a cover of this spread too.
MY PICKS: Elina Svitolina - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Mirra Andreeva - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 2-2, - 0.28 Units (4 Units Staked, - 7% Yield)
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