Featured post

Wimbledon Tennis Day 12 Picks 2025 (Friday 11th July)

The Ladies Final has been set and you could argue that both Finalists are something of a surprise- Amanda Anisimova has shown some form on t...

Wednesday, 7 May 2025

Rome Masters Tennis Picks 2025 (Thursday 8th May)

After a very productive return from the Monte Carlo Masters last month, the decision was made to just sit back through the next couple of weeks of the Tour and allow players to settle into the clay court groove.

It has also been clear in recent years that the Madrid Masters tournament plays incredibly different to most clay court events and my recent numbers at that event have not been good at all. With that in mind, it was pretty easy to wait until the Rome Masters before the next set of Tennis Picks would be made and this is the last big event before the French Open begins.

Casper Ruud and Aryna Sabalenka left the Spanish capital as Champions and there is a definite feeling that both Singles events at Roland Garros are going to be wide open- Iga Swiatek has not been at her dominant best on her favoured surface, while Carlos Alcaraz, the defending men's Champion at the French Open, has been struggling with some health issues.

Jannik Sinner is back this week in Rome after serving a suspension and he will want to make an early statement about his credentials of winning a maiden French Open title, even if not all of his peers are going to be too happy to see him back on the Tour. The timing of his suspension has been seen as all too convenient for the World Number 1 and Sinner will have to accept that there are going to be plenty of doubters that will be keen to see him upset.

He benefits from returning in Rome where the crowds are not going to be hostile, but Jannik Sinner will have tougher environments in which to compete moving forward. The Tour and the player will be keen to put the saga of a failed test behind them, but others are not going to play ball with that and there has been a definite damage done to the sport.


The hope is that the headlines will be made by those on the court and this second big Masters event in the lead up to the French Open is perhaps a better indicator of how players may perform in Paris when the second Grand Slam of the season gets going at the end of the month. The quick turnaround from Madrid could lead to some early upsets, but for most this is the last chance to put some competitive tennis under the legs before all eyes are fixated on the French capital ahead of the grass court season and short run into Wimbledon.


It has been a decent season so far for the Tennis Picks and a bounce back from 2024, but we are not even close to the end of the year and plenty of twists and turns have to be negotiated.

The hope is another strong clay court tournament for the Picks could offer up some real momentum to take into the French Open selections- after this event in Rome, the next Tennis Picks will be from Day 1 at the French Open which begins on Sunday 25th May, but first the concentration is on having a strong showing here.


Elina Svitolina - 5.5 games v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: Throughout her career, Elina Svitolina has always been a solid clay courter, but perhaps not someone who could seriously be considered as a French Open Champion. That may sound harsh on a player that has reached the Quarter Final at the second Grand Slam of the season on four separate occasions, but that is where the run has tended to end.

This year the hope for Elina Svitolina is that she can go at least one step further- she has won a title on the clay courts already and had won nine in a row on the surface before losing in the Madrid Semi Final to eventual Champion Aryna Sabalenka. That run has pushed the Ukrainian back inside the top 15 in the World Rankings and will mean Svitolina will enter the French Open as a higher Ranked player than she was twelve months ago.

Credit has to be given to Elina Svitolina for the consistency she continues to show on the Tour and she will certainly arrive in Rome with some good memories of the event.

Since returning to the Tour after becoming a mother, Elina Svitolina has a 2-2 record here, but she did win the Rome tournament in back to back years in 2017 and 2018 and also reached consecutive Quarter Finals in 2020 and 2021. That is a run of form that deserves respect and Elina Svitolina is a big favourite to get the better of Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the Second Round.

The World Number 72 is from Spain and so it is no surprise that the majority of her time and energy is spent on the clay courts.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has had the majority of her success in tournaments below the main WTA level, which is why her career best World Ranking has been Number 52, but she has put some wins together in Rouen, Madrid and Rome that will give her some belief. However, the run in Rouen ended at the hands of Elina Svitolina, who went on to win the title there, and Bouzas Maneiro has not had much experience in facing the top players on the Tour with a 1-2 record on the clay against top 50 Ranked opponents over the last twelve months.

She is young and developing and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro will know what to expect having faced Elina Svitolina last month, but closing the gap that existed on the day will be tough. Her serve is a touch vulnerable, especially at this level, but Bouzas Maneiro may be able to make things a bit more competitive if she is able to take her Break Point opportunities.

You know Elina Svitolina will offer some of those out, but the higher Ranked player is a bit more consistent behind her second serve and has the return game to keep her Spanish opponent under some pressure. The Break Points will be key, but the feeling is that Elina Svitolina will play those a little better as she did when the pair faced off in Rouen and that should see the World Number 14 cover on her way through to the Third Round.


Jaume Munar - 2.5 games v Tomas Barrios Vera: It has not been a productive clay court season for Jaume Munar, which will be a disappointment for the Spaniard, but there are still some big Ranking points to fight in the next two big tournaments.

Jaume Munar is going up against a tough opponent in terms of the clay court experience, but Tomas Barrios Vera has earned his strongest results below the ATP Tour level.

His two main ATP matches have ended in convincing defeats, and Barrios Vera has slipped out of the top 100 in the World Rankings. However. the Chilean has produced plenty of wins on the surface, which is going to give him some belief in his tennis and that is perhaps why the layers have not made Jaume Munar a stronger favourite.

The numbers have not been very good this season as the losses have piled up on the clay, but Jaume Munar is a solid player on the surface and this should be a winnable match. He has had some very disappointing losses in the build up to the French Open, although Jaume Munar will take confidence from the fact he has beaten Tomas Barrios Vera twice previously.

Both matches took place on the clay courts, albeit at Challenger events, and the last of those was played in September last year.

Tomas Barrios Vera has played his part in those matches and taken a set, but Jaume Munar has found the tennis needed at big moments to come out on top and that could be the case again in Rome in this First Round meeting.

MY PICKS: Elina Svitolina - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Jaume Munar - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

2025 Season: 74-52, + 17.37 Units (164 Units Staked, + 10.59% Yield)

No comments:

Post a Comment