We are into the Semi Finals in Kitzbuhel, but in the main, Friday is Quarter Final day at the tournaments being played across the ATP and WTA.
It has been a relatively quiet week for the Tennis Picks, but this looks to be the busiest day with a number of selections being made from the tournaments in Prague and Estoril.
The thoughts behind those selections can be read below with matches taking place throughout the day.
Hugo Gaston - 3.5 games v Tiago Torres: The Quarter Final lineup at the ATP tournament in Estoril will underline the status of some of the events taking place this week, but don't say that to Hugo Gaston and Tiago Torres.
This is a big opportunity for those Ranked lower down than the elite players on the Tour and a Semi Final run at any ATP 250 event will offer a big leap for the winner of this one.
No matter how this tournament ends from here, Tiago Torres will be playing at a new career high World Ranking mark and that is a boost for this young player who has been playing his College Tennis in the United States. A Wild Card was given to him by the Estoril organisers and Tiago Torres should be given a lot of respect for the way he has handled himself with wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alejandro Tabilo already on the board.
Those are victories that will give Torres a lot of confidence, but those have both been surprising wins when you consider he has limited experience at this level and has suffered pretty one-sided losses to Roman Safiullon and Jaime Faria on this surface in 2026.
However, Tiago Torres will be confident after the wins produced this week and now takes on Hugo Gaston, who can be erratic to say the least.
The 25 year old has had a difficult time trying to regain his place amongst the top 100 in the World Rankings, but Hugo Gaston has shown he is comfortable facing this level of opponent.
In 2026, Hugo Gaston has a 10-3 record when facing a player Ranked lower than himself on the clay courts and the lefty is a pretty effective returner on this surface. He will be looking to put the pressure on Tiago Torres and Hugo Gaston had a really strong performance in the Second Round which, if replicated, would make him very hard to beat.
Both players will be expecting the return to be a big part of the outcome of this Quarter Final, but Hugo Gaston may be able to get a little more out of the serve and that could end up being a decisive part of the match.
The spread is a wide one if this is a match that features plenty of breaks of serve, but the two losses to the higher level opponents faced by Tiago Torres have both ended without covering this line set. Hugo Gaston may not be as strong as Roman Safiullon or Jaime Faria, but he is very capable of beating those he should and he has usually been able to do that with some degree of comfort on the final scoreboard.
Roman Andres Burruchaga v Alexander Blockx: After withdrawing at the French Open, Alexander Blockx won for the first time since Paris when getting through his Second Round match in three sets.
He was perhaps fortunate on the day and the Belgian looks to be a vulnerable favourite in this Quarter Final.
Alexander Blockx has had some very strong runs on the clay courts this season and at a significantly higher level than this ATP 250 tournament brings, but he still needs to show a bit more improvement on the return of serve. His own serve has been a big weapon, but Blockx faced seventeen Break Points in the Second Round and is coming up against a pretty comfortable red dirt player.
This is a Quarter Final in which Roman Andres Burruchaga is the lower Ranked player and he is the underdog, but the World Number 60 should be battle-hardened having come through in three sets to beat both Stan Wawrinka and Nuno Borges. Both players would have had the large majority of the support, if not all of the support, while the real credit that Roman Andres Burruchaga deserves is the fact he dropped the second set each time and STILL rallied to win.
Last week Burruchaga reached the Semi Final in Umag, but the majority of his successes have been at Challenger level and so there is a gap to bridge.
Roman Andres Burruchaga should take a lot of confidence from the fact he has beaten Alexander Blockx in both previous meetings, albeit in 2024 and when it was Burruchaga who was Ranked higher than Alexander Blockx.
This is a much tougher looking challenge, but Blockx struggled in the Second Round and Roman Andres Burruchaga may have enough clay court nous to edge through.
Daria Snigur - 3.5 games v Lanlana Tararudee: Credit has to be given to Lanlana Tararudee who won a lower level event on the hard courts last week and has used the momentum to maintain her winning run in Prague.
She recovered from a really difficult position earn her spot in the Quarter Final and that means Lanlana Tararudee is set to reach a new career high World Ranking, although she will also be very keen to continue the run.
Next up is a very tough match against Daria Snigur who is also improving her career high World Ranking mark from week to week.
The 24 year old has been crushing the competition at a lower level than the main WTA Tour, but that is the kind of level in which Daria Snigur may have run into Lanlana Tararudee.
Her numbers have been really impressive on the hard court, albeit at that lower level, and Daria Snigur should be the much fresher player, while she has also been in really solid form in winning both matches here in Prague.
Both players are strong returners, but Daria Snigur may be able to get through a couple more service games with holds thanks to her freshness compared with Lanlana Tararudee who needed over three hours to win on Thursday. That comes after winning the title last weekend and then travelling over to Prague and all of that could add up to a difficult obstacle to overcome in this Quarter Final.
Marie Bouzkova - 2.5 games v Tereza Valentova: Earlier this month, the Ladies Final at Wimbledon was a reminder of the kind of talent that is being produced by Czechia on both the ATP and WTA Tour.
This tournament in Prague is a big opportunity for a home player to pick up the title and we are guaranteed to see one Czech player in the Semi Final at the end of this Quarter Final match.
It is a repeat of the Semi Final of 2025 when Marie Bouzkova and Tereza Valentova meet on Friday and credit has to be given to both of these players that they are much higher in the World Rankings in 2026 compared with twelve months ago. Out of the two, 19 year old Tereza Valentova needs the win more to avoid dropping in the World Rankings, but Marie Bouzkova has looked pretty comfortable here this week.
There is very little between them in the numbers, but Marie Bouzkova will have the mental advantage after winning the Semi Final last year and also beating Tereza Valentova in straight sets on the grass of Nottingham last month.
Matches between compatriots can have that 'pecking order' feel to them and that may be the case for Marie Bouzkova and Tereza Valentova when they step onto the court.
Marie Bouzkova has been the stronger return player in the head to head and that may end up being the factor that separates the two when they face off in this Quarter Final.
Sara Bejlek - 2.5 games v Lilli Tagger: Two very young players are meeting for the second week in a row on the WTA Tour and Sara Bejlek may feel home advantage can help her make she gets the better of Lilli Tagger once again.
Last week in Athens, Sara Bejlek beat this opponent for the loss of four games, although matching that kind of dominant win will be difficult now that Lilli Tagger has some experience of what to expect.
Sara Bejlek was beaten in the Prague Quarter Final last year, and she was beaten in the Quarter Final in Athens last week, but the performances through the opening couple of Rounds will give her a lot of belief.
Both of these players have strong hard court numbers, but Sara Bejlek has a slight edge in those, while Lilli Tagger is trying to turn things around against players Ranked higher than herself. While she has a 4-5 record on the hard courts in 2026 in that situation, Lilli Tagger's numbers have taken a significant dip.
At the same time, Sara Bejlek has a 10-2 record on the hard courts when facing opponents Ranked outside of the top 50 in the World Rankings, while she is 7-1 when facing a lower Ranked opponent. The numbers have been really impressive in those spots and the home crowd can keep the 20 year old focused enough to earn a spot in the Semi Final behind a strong win over Lilli Tagger for a second week in a row.
MY PICKS: Hugo Gaston - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Roman Andres Burruchaga @ 2.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Daria Snigur - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Marie Bouzkova - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Sara Bejlek - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 William Hill (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 3-2, + 0.41 Units (5 Units Staked, + 8.20% Yield)
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