Tennis Picks 2025 (Monday 17th February)

The opening of the new week of tournaments could not have gone much better, but that was the case last week and we saw how quickly things can turn in another direction.

The only focus right now is to build on the Sunday successful results with another couple of winners when a very busy Monday is completed.

Once again the focus is on the WTA 1000 event in Dubai and that is because it is a quieter start to the two ATP 500 tournaments in Doha and Rio de Janeiro with smaller fields in the main draw, although with some top players involved.

Ons Jabeur - 3.5 games v Peyton Stearns: Back to back Quarter Finals runs in Abu Dhabi and Doha would be solid returns for most players, but Ons Jabeur has bigger expectations of herself and there has been plenty of support behind her from the stands.

Losing matches to Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko are perhaps not the worst results, but Ons Jabeur will have expected to have won one of those and potentially even earned a title at either of the events already played.

Now she takes another swing in Dubai and Ons Jabeur can really begin moving back up the World Rankings with some wins here. Earning a Seed at the French Open has to be an ambition for Ons Jabeur, which looks very likely anyway, and the Tunisian will want to show she can compete with some of the top names on the Tour, who are going to be playing at this WTA 1000 event too.

In the First Round the draw has thrown up Peyton Stearns as an opponent, another player who has suffered a defeat to Elena Rybakina during this run through the Middle East.

The American has struggled for consistency and that is perhaps underlined by the fact she has yet to crack the top 40 in the World Rankings and has been hovering just outside those positions.

Peyton Stearns has produced some solid numbers on the Tour in 2025- she has a decent first serve and can hit the ball plenty hard, which can be dangerous in the rallies. However, the second serve will need to be protected with a bit more authority and Ons Jabeur is capable of exploiting that shot.

Ons Jabeur perhaps just does things a little better than Peyton Stearns at this stage of their respective careers and her performances at the last two events have been encouraging. With a slightly stronger second serve and an ability to get her teeth into return games, the higher Ranked of the two players can make use of her primetime spot on the day and just wear down Stearns with a solid victory.

Ekaterina Alexandrova - 2.5 games v Veronika Kudermetova: It doesn't feel that long ago that Veronika Kudermetova was playing as one of the top ten players on the WTA Tour, but almost two and a half years have passed by since she reached her career best World Ranking.

These days Kudermetova is operating outside of the top 50 in the World Rankings and that has meant having to win Qualifying matches to earn her spot in the main draw at some of the bigger events that are played.

Both in Doha and Dubai, Veronika Kudermetova has won two Qualifying matches, while she was able to earn a spot in the Abu Dhabi main draw as a Lucky Loser.

Despite those wins, Kudermetova has not really ben able to back them up in the main draw and this is a tough match against compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova.

After her run to reach the Doha Semi Final on Friday, Ekaterina Alexandrova has moved up into World Number 22 and she will be once again thinking about surpassing her career best mark that was set in early April last year. There are very little Ranking points to protect in Dubai and Indian Wells so this will feel like an opportunity for Ekaterina Alexandrova to move back in with some of the top names on the Tour, although it is never easy to produce consistently strong tennis from week to week.

Confidence will not be a problem for Ekaterina Alexandrova, who won the title in Linz in early February, and beating Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula last week in Doha can only strengthen that belief.

Ekaterina Alexandrova had lost her opening two matches on the pro Tour against Veronika Kudermetova, but she has won their last three meetings including in Adelaide in January 2024. The irony is that all of those five matches have been won by the lower Ranked player, so that is something that Alexandrova will have to be aware of and look to avoid happening for a sixth time between the two Russians.

You have to have respect for Veronika Kudermetova who has been playing at a decent level, and who will also be familiar with the conditions in Dubai. However, Ekaterina Alexandrova is in strong form and she may just be able to secure a tough win in this First Round match.

MY PICKS: Ons Jabeur - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Ekaterina Alexandrova - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 2-0, + 1.72 Units (2 Units Staked, + 86% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Sunday 16th February)

A title might have been handed out at 1000 level when Amanda Anisimova completed her win over Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday, but the talking point throughout the sport would have been the news that broke earlier in the day.

Jannik Sinner has been suspended for three months for the failed test he administered last year in Indian Wells.

However, this is a story that has upset many involved in the sport- many believe the suspension is lenient and the fact that Sinner has been allowed to not only compete, but has won two Grand Slams in New York City and Melbourne has really not been a good look for the sport.

The same will be said about the one month suspension that was handed out to Iga Swiatek, also at a time when it would not really affect her overall plans.

Yes, Sinner will miss a couple of big events in Doha and Dubai and both Masters events in North America, but he is scheduled to return at the Rome Masters and cleared to play at the French Open.

It this really the right punishment? If a deal has been struck to serve the suspension now, and a limited one at that, is that going to be something other players stating mistakes have led to failures can also ask for?

Even level headed players are going to be concerned about this outcome- Stan Wawrinka made his feelings clear through his social channels- and this is a story that is set to run and run.

The timing of the suspension doesn't feel like much of a deterrent and having top players pick and choose what they are willing to accept seems bizarre. Having Sinner back in time for Rome will obviously see him ease his back onto the Tour with the fans behind him, but many will look at this whole situation cockeyed and wondering how clean the sport really is.

A tough week for the Tennis Picks has come to a conclusion on Saturday, but a new week means a new game and a chance for redemption.

The season numbers have been updated and there are some big events taking place this week, which will make it feel like a Grand Slam week.

Top names are out on the courts and it should be one the fans can enjoy, even with Jannik Sinner being a notable absentee.

Linda Noskova - 3.5 games v Yulia Putintseva: The WTA Tour moving through the Middle East has given Linda Noskova an opportunity to pick up some vital World Ranking points and she has played well in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Three wins were secured in Abu Dhabi and two more were put on the board in Doha, while Linda Noskova will feel she played well enough to beat Iga Swiatek last week.

Next up is Dubai and another WTA 1000 event with the main draw getting underway on Sunday. The First Round has placed Linda Noskova in a rematch with Yulia Putintseva having beaten her last week in Doha, but there will have to be a respect for the latter.

It was only the end of January when Yulia Putintseva earned a spot in the top 20 of the World Rankings for the first time in her career, but she is 1-2 during this run through the Middle East. One of the keys to the early successes on the Tour was the effectiveness of the first serve, but that has not been the case for Yulia Putintseva this month and Linda Noskova was able to also win enough points on that shot to then expose what has been a vulnerable second serve.

The return has not always been the best part of Noskova's game, but the younger player will feel she can get in front of the rally if she is able to have the successes she did when facing Yulia Putintseva last week in Doha. Overall the return has been working much better in the tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha and that should give Linda Noskova the edge in this First Round match.

Linda Noskova is the World Number 35 and so the lower Ranked player in this First Round match, but she has been serving really well over the last couple of weeks and that is an important factor that gives her the edge over Yulia Putintseva.

The latter is dropping out of the top 20 in the World Rankings when the new numbers are released and Yulia Putintseva will do well to turn things around against an opponent who had dominated the match last week.

Tennis is a sport of inches and so Putintseva will feel she can win the bigger points, especially as it felt like Linda Noskova won all of the Break Points that they competed in- however, Noskova created five opportunities compared with just two for the higher Ranked player and she can win this match and cover the relatively wide spread.

Belinda Bencic - 5.5 games v Aoi Ito: You cannot blame Belinda Bencic if she was a little disappointed to have not been invited to compete at the tournament in Doha last week, but it has been a positive month for the returning star. Winning the title in Abu Dhabi will have just eased the frustration of not playing in Doha and Belinda Bencic is already back up to World Number 66 and she can push on with a big run at this WTA 1000 event.

No one could have really expected to see this level of tennis from Belinda Bencic just months after giving birth, but also missing so much competitive action.

Belinda Bencic is playing at a good level, although there will be a feeling that there is still plenty of scope for improvement even after winning the title in Abu Dhabi.

The portion of the draw will not be easy to negotiate, but Belinda Bencic will be a solid favourite to get the better of Aoi Ito in the First Round.

The 20 year old Japanese player has won a lot of tennis matches over the last twelve months and will have to be given respect for beating Ashley Krueger in the final Qualifying Round. It was Ashley Krueger who faced Belinda Bencic in the Abu Dhabi Final, so is clearly a player in some form, and that will only have Aoi Ito believing in her tennis that much more as she begins to get used to playing top 100 Ranked opponents.

She had also Qualified for the tournament in Doha, but Ito was crushed in the First Round by Jelena Ostapenko, although that is a defeat that does not look so bad when you think of the fact that the Latvian made the Doha Final.

A title has also been won, albeit not at the main Tour level, and Aoi Ito may feel she can upset the odds if Belinda Bencic overlooks her.

There will be little knowledge of Aoi Ito, which also is a factor moving against Belinda Bencic, but this is a match that the latter should still be favoured to win.

Much will depend on the serve and just building some pressure on Aoi Ito, and the rest might actually have done Belinda Bencic some good after the long run earlier this month. This could all pay off for a solid win to open her campaign here in Dubai at the last big event to be played on the WTA Tour this month.

MY PICKS: Linda Noskova - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Belinda Bencic - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

2025 Season: 34-21, + 14.51 Units (93 Units Staked, + 15.60% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2025- Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr (Saturday 15th February)

There was a card in the United States on Friday and that is the longer thread for the Boxing Picks this week and can be read here.

The idea was to split the cards into two threads simply because the events are being run on separate nights and may make for easier reading.

Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr

The interim WBO World Title is on the line as both Jack Catterall and Arnold Barboza Jr head into their thirty-second professional fight of their respective careers.

Barring a controversial Decision, both Jack Catterall and Arnold Barboza Jr would have the same 31-0 record, but the former was on the wrong end of the judges' scorecards in his first fight with Josh Taylor.

In another reality, Jack Catterall is not only a World Champion, but an Undisputed World Champion in the Light-Welterweight Division and he may even have moved up into the Welterweight Division to chase bigger fights.

Instead he is hoping that his run of four wins in a row since the loss to Taylor can be extended and the interim World Title is around his waist at the end of the night. There is every chance that is going to be upgraded sooner than later with the expectation being that full Champion, Teofimo Lopez, will not want to fight the winner of this bout as mandated.

Arnold Barboza Jr has perhaps been carefully building up his level of competition, and for some it will feel like the career has been managed too carefully.

He is 33 years old now and Barboza Jr needs to get going if he is going to achieve all he wants in the sport.

After a surprising struggle to beat Sean McComb, Arnold Barboza Jr earned his most impressive win last time out when getting the better of Jose Carlos Ramirez and it did feel he was a more comfortable winner than the cards may have indicated.

This is the first time Arnold Barboza Jr is competing in a Twelve Round fight, which is not the case for Jack Catterall, and the home fighter may just use that experience to win what should be a competitive fight through the Championship Rounds.

With the fans behind him, Jack Catterall can use his Southpaw stance to just make things awkward for Arnold Barboza Jr, who perhaps does not have the best footwork either. The British fighter may also hold the slight edge when it comes to the power and Jack Catterall has shown that he is fundamentally sound and able to find a way to put the winning Rounds together.

His win over Regis Prograis showed off some of the character, grit and determination with which Jack Catterall is fuelling his career and the feeling is that he is going to be able to just outwork Arnold Barboza Jr for a tough win on the cards.

There are some decent undercard fights to support the main event.

Pat McCormack is hoping to put some momentum behind his career as he steps up to face veteran Robbie Davies Jr in a crossroads fight for both.

The younger, fresher fighter can carry can his power and he may just force Davies Jr out of there, although the veteran has the experience and will to at least push Pat McCormack through his paces and get through a few Rounds.

A real rivaly fight between Reece Bellotti and Michael Gomez Jr has been built up after the latter pulled out of their original meeting at the eleventh hour.

Reece Bellotti felt Gomez Jr had 'swallowed it', but the latter will have home support and deserves a lot of respect.

However, the defending British and Commonwealth Champion has become a much more well rounded fighter as he has gotten older and Reece Bellotti may just be able to defend his Belts in a tight contest.

Zelfa Barrett is back after ten months and he is going to be well supported by the home fans- he is another who needs to just step up and build momentum, especially still being Ranked pretty highly with the IBF.

He is also facing a veteran that has perhaps seen his best days and Jezza Dickens has been Stopped in four of the five defeats suffered.

MY PICKS: Jack Catterall to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Pat McCormack to Win Between 6-10 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Reece Bellotti to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Zelfa Barrett to Win by KO/TKO @ 2.37 William Hill (2 Units)

Boxing 2025: 4-15, - 12.85 Units (25 Units Staked, - 51.40% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Saturday 15th February)

It has been a disappointing end to the week for the Tennis Picks and that was not helped with one losing selection and one player withdrawing after falling behind to the other selection made.

These things happen in a long season, but it does not lessen the frustration considering the start that was made to the week.

We still have time to turn things around across the weekend, although it does depend on the right spreads/prices being set by the layers as far as the selection criteria goes.

Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: There were plenty of big names involved in the tournament in Doha this week, which is no surprise as a WTA 1000 event, but the Final has to be considered an unexpected one.

Both Jelena Ostapenko and Amanda Anisimova have done very well to get to the Final and there is plenty on the line other than the title for the two players.

If Amanda Anisimova is able to win the title on Saturday, she will crack the top 20 of the World Rankings for the first time and the potential that many believed the American holds will perhaps begin to turn into on-court success. There is no doubting the talent, and all of Anisimova's wins in Doha have been against players Ranked at least 30.

This deserves respect and Amanda Anisimova has served with some consistency and that has allowed her to attack the return and put herself in strong positions in matches. Her performances here in Doha have also backed up a solid start to the 2025 season with big events in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami to be played on the hard courts before the clay court season gets underway.

All of the matches won and the level produced will give Amanda Anisimova a lot of confidence, but there is no doubting the same can be said for Jelena Ostapenko, who is a player that can be very difficult to stop once she gets on a roll like she has this week.

The fiery Latvian is a former Grand Slam Champion and reached as high as World Number, but only winning the title here on Saturday will push Jelena Ostapenko back into the top 20. She had not won a match before arriving in Doha, but you would not have guessed that having won every set at the tournament.

Making it more impressive is the fact that only two sets have seen Jelena Ostapenko give up more than three games.

You could accept that if Jelena Ostapenko had been given a kind draw, but she has beaten two of the top four and Ons Jabeur in the last three matches and none of those players have won more than four games against the former French Open Champion.

Jelena Ostapenko has crushed World Number 4 Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 and did the exact same to Ons Jabeur in the Quarter Final.

Perhaps most impressive is beating Iga Swiatek, the World Number 2, 6-3, 6-1 in the Semi Final and Jelena Ostapenko is making hay behind the first serve. Backing that up is the aggressive mentality on the return, which has seen Ostapenko win 55% of return points played in Doha and you have to give her the edge in the Final.

These two players actually met here in 2022 and it was Jelena Ostapenko who came through a very competitive match that needed all three sets to separate her from Amanda Anisimova.

It was the Jelena Ostapenko first serve that might have been the key shot in that Second Round match three years ago and the feeling is that it could just see the Final edge towards the Latvian too.

MY PICKS: Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-4, - 1.43 Units (7 Units Staked, - 20.43% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2025- Denys Berinchyk vs Keyshawn Davis (Friday 14th February)

There were not many people who believed the tagline 'The Last Dance' and it is inevitable that Derek Chisora will reach a milestone in a fiftieth fight later this year.

He was a clear winner over Otto Wallin, regardless of one of the cards submitted at the end of the Twelve Rounds fought out, and the right Decision was at least made by having Chisora's hand raised.

Three cards were brought out with faces on it- Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua and it was clear from those left in attendance that the last of those made the most appeal if Derek Chisora is going to have one more big night in London.

Recent wins are not exactly strong enough to see Derek Chisora earn a World Title shot and especially not when someone like Martin Bakole has not been given opportunity, and it is important to match the veteran as well as possible.

You would not want to see him hurt and there is little doubt he has slowed down- Otto Wallin should be embarrassed with his own level of performance, but neither Dubois nor Usyk are likely to be as lacklustre, while guys like Bakole would want to make a statement and would be seriously dangerous.

For a long time Derek Chisora refused to even entertain fighting Anthony Joshua and there is a feeling that the latter is still convinced that his next fight could be against Tyson Fury.

And with that all in mind, it does feel like Chisora is going to be hard to be matched right in what 'should' be his last fight.

Queensberry announced three big fight nights for April and May as they prepare to take their Boxing cards onto DAZN, so there are some exciting times for Boxing fans coming up.

Boxxer also put together a rematch between Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron, which has the easy storyline attached to it after their Royal Rumble like premature ending to the first bout.

However, the focus for most fans is on Saturday 22nd February and the next Riyadh Season card, which is loaded right up and down the card.

We are just eight days away from that big night headlined by the Undisputed rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, but the last weekend before The Last Crescendo has some quality attached to it.

The two fight nights will be split into two threads for ease of reading, beginning with the big American card taking place in the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.

On Saturday the attention turns to Manchester and a top Light Welterweight contest main eventing, one that could set the winner up to call themselves Interim World Champion and potentially open the door for a huge fight later in the year.

Denys Berinchyk vs Keyshawn Davis

There was some drama ahead of this World Title fight when the Challenger accused the unbeaten Champion, or someone in his team, of sending bananas and watermelons to his address, which was taken as a racist insult.

It was all threatening to boil over, but Keyshawn Davis has since apologised to Denys Berinchyk and instead laid the blame at the door of Teofimo Lopez.

Focus on winning the World Title is now the key for Davis and not worrying too much about the antics of a World Champion operating in a higher Division and The Businessman has been able to come through his bouts even as the step up in class of opponent has been presented to him.

A crushing win over Gustavo Daniel Lemos impressed, but the opponent had come in way clear of the 135 pound limit and you do have to wonder if his motivation was where it should have been for a second big opportunity in a row.

That's not of any concern to Keyshawn Davis and the victory, and manner of victory, will have given the American a huge boost in confidence as he fights in a scheduled Twelve Rounder for the first time.

It is very important to respect Denys Berinchyk, who won the vacant World Title in a tough fight against Emmanuel Navarrete.

He upset the odds on the day in a Split Decision win, but the 36 year old is not very active and this is a big step up compared with facing a World Champion moving up in weight. Prior to that win, Denys Berinchyk had beaten the likes of Yvan Mendy and Anthony Yigit, and, again, it feels like this is a considerable step up for the Champion.

No one will doubt the toughness and Berinchyk has shown he has the motor to do the full Twelve Rounds multiple times, which gives him an experience edge over the Challenger.

In saying that, Keyshawn Davis can build up the points on the scorecards and he may end up looking to manage the fight down the stretch if it begins to look unlikely that the Stoppage can be produced. There are going to be some potentially big doors opened up for Davis if he can win the World Title and he may just need the cards to do that on Valentine's Day.

There are fighters looking for breakout performances on the undercard, but also a couple of names that Top Rank have been hyping up that are looking to bounce back from recent setbacks.

Earlier in the night, Nico Ali Walsh returns in his third straight Six Rounder since his first loss of his professional career.

But on the main card there will be plenty of eyes on Jared Anderson who returns to the ring after his crushing loss to Martin Bakole last year.

He was down early and then often in that defeat and promoter Bob Arum has made it clear that the advice given to Anderson was to look at other opponents.

However, Arum has blamed the money that was on offer and he is hoping The Real Big Baby is now listening to experience and not his bank manager as the rebuild in the Heavyweight Division begins. The standard has been set by Daniel Dubois as to how a fighter can recover from a setback in a Division where opportunities can quickly be found and Jared Anderson is expected to make relatively quick work of Marios Kollias.

The Greek Heavyweight has been beaten three times as a professional and there is nothing on his resume that suggests he has been in with someone even as close to as good as Jared Anderson could potentially be.

Prior to the loss to Martin Bakole, there has been questions around Jared Anderson's focus and he is going to have to show his desire to really compete.

In reality, this looks a fight that is set for Anderson to get right and back on track and it is expected to be a relatively short night in the office.

MY PICKS: Keyshawn Davis Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 1.91 Paddy Power (1 Unit)

Jared Anderson to Win Between 1-5 @ 1.72 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing 2025: 4-13, - 8.85 Units (21 Units Staked, - 42.14% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Friday 14th February)

Thursday proved to be a really frustrating day- there were times within each of the three Picks made where it felt the momentum was going to turn back in our favour, but ultimately all three dropped into the losing column.

Those results have erased the positive start to the week, but the weekend can still turn things back around beginning with a busy Friday filled with Quarter Final matches on the ATP Tour and the two Semi Final matches to be played in Doha.

Both of those Semi Final matches look competitive on paper and hard to call and so have not fit the selection policy for the pages, but any selections from the ATP events will be placed in this thread.

The events in Delray Beach and Buenos Aires will have markets set later so will be added, if any selections are to be made, but the focus for now will be on the Marseille Quarter Finals.

Zizou Bergs - 1.5 games v Zhizhen Zhang: Some controversy was attached to Zizou Bergs' win at the Davis Cup, but he has built up some momentum and this tournament in Marseille represents a good chance to earn important World Ranking points.

Winning the tournament will be anything but easy, although Zizou Bergs has put a couple of solid wins on the board and that will have given the World Number 62 plenty of confidence.

After coming through Qualifying, Zizou Bergs reached the Final in the tournament in Auckland in the build up to the Australian Open and the two wins in Marseille will mean that the Belgian is set for a new career high World Ranking mark early next week.

He is serving very well in his two wins that have been put on the board and that has allowed Zizou Bergs to play aggressively on the return and mentally break down opponents.

Next up is World Number 52 Zhizhen Zhang who is trending back towards the career high Ranking that was set in July last year. An upset of Hubert Hurkacz in the Second Round is a huge boost for Zhizhen Zhang, but backing that up will not be easy and not on a surface on which Zhang has had struggles to find his consistency.

Much like his opponent, Zhizhen Zhang has served well so far this week and his 4-5 record on the hard courts is partly down to the difficult draws he has faced. Four of those defeats have been against opponents Ranked Number 13 or higher, while the exception is a loss to Denis Shapovalov, who has shown signs of getting back to his best tennis.

This has to be encouraging for Zhizhen Zhang, but Zizou Bergs has had a considerable edge when it comes to the return of serve.

Over the last twelve months, Zhang has an 8-8 record on the hard courts when facing opponents Ranked lower than himself and he has only broken in 17% of return games played.

When these players met in Shanghai towards the end of last season, Zizou Bergs was able to play the key points much more efficiently compared with Zhizhen Zhang. He will need to do the same here, but has shown a bit more than the World Number 52 on the return of serve and that can just see Bergs push through to another Semi Final on the Tour in 2025.

Thiago Seyboth Wild v Laslo Djere: At his best he was a comfortable top 50 Ranked player, but it has been a difficult year for Laslo Djere and the World Ranking has plummeted.

He has begun this week outside of the top 100 of the World Rankings and that meant having to Qualify for the tournament in Buenos Aires, but you have to consider the confidence boost the Serb will have given himself by putting four wins together.

The first three were comfortable, but Laslo Djere needed a final set tie-breaker to get the better of Alejandro Tabilo in the Second Round and set up this Quarter Final match.

There is nothing wrong with the numbers being produced by Laslo Djere and he has been a solid clay court competitor in his career so the surface is not going to be one that is concerning him at all. Facing a Brazilian in this Quarter Final should mean any support from the stands is very going to be heading to his side of the net and Djere will be tough to beat if he continues to back up his serve as he has all week.

With that in mind it is perhaps not a surprise that the Serb is the favourite in this Quarter Final, especially as he is facing an opponent who has also been trending in the wrong direction as far as the World Ranking goes over the last nine months.

Confidence will not have been helped by opening 2025 with three straight losses, but the Golden Swing through South America should be an opportunity for Thiago Seyboth Wild to just begin to turn things around.

He has two wins over home favourites already this week, so dealing with the crowd on Friday is not expected to be a massive problem, and one of the wins has eliminated a Seeded player from the tournament.

Like Laslo Djere, Thiago Seyboth Wild has found a way to protect his serve on a surface where it is that much more difficult to do, while he has also played the key points slightly more effectively than the Serb on the return.

This could be a key to the outcome of this Quarter Final, as will the fact that Thiago Seyboth Wild managed to beat Laslo Djere twice on the clay courts in 2024.

Previously he had lost all three matches against Djere, but was dominant behind serve and then able to get into the return games in those two wins. Both have been played since July 2024 and that mental edge could make the difference in what is expected to be a competitive, and closely fought out battle for a place in the last four and the chance to earn some vital Ranking points ahead of bigger tournaments to come.

MY PICKS: Zizou Bergs - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Thiago Seyboth Wild @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-3, - 0.43 Units (6 Units Staked, - 7.17% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Thursday 13th February)

The WTA Doha tournament moves into the Quarter Final stage and all four matches are played back to back on Thursday.

We also move further into the three ATP tournaments being played this week, but the focus for the Tennis Picks remain on the biggest event taking place.

It has been a decent week so far for the selections, but this is looking like the busiest day so far and could determine the trajectory of the profit/loss mark.

Jessica Pegula - 2.5 games v Ekaterina Alexandrova: Ten months ago, Ekaterina Alexandrova reached her career high World Ranking inside the top 20, but she is operating as the World Number 26 this week in Doha.

An early exit at the Australian Open was a blow, but Ekaterina Alexandrova has won a title in Linz and she has now won seven matches in a row. The disappointment of the poor start to the season looks to be behind the Russian and her three wins in Doha will have only increased the confidence.

One of those wins was against World Number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and Ekaterina Alexandrova has backed that Second Round win up by beating Elise Mertens in the Third Round. That was her best performance of the week and Alexandrova will feel her level is high enough to perhaps earn the upset in this Quarter Final.

The layers certainly feel it is going to be an upset if Ekaterina Alexandrova is able to get the better of Jessica Pegula, the World Number 5 and who has produced two solid wins to take her place in the last eight.

Jessica Pegula reached the Final in Adelaide in the build up to the Australian Open before a Third Round upset defeat in Melbourne.

She has been serving well in her two wins in Doha and both players are going to be relying on that shot to set up control of the rallies. There looks to be a slight edge with the Ekaterina Alexandrova first serve and that may make the difference in what is expected to be a competitive match, especially with both players producing aggressive returning that will be targeting the second serves whenever they can.

Both players have managed to land 62% of their first serves and the player that can avoid falling below that mark is likely going to have the edge in what is expected to be close match.

When the players met in Miami on the hard courts last year, Ekaterina Alexandrova got the better of Jessica Pegula in three sets, but it was a match in which the American will feel she was the better player and deserved to win.

It will be a tough match again, but this time Jessica Pegula could just win the key points to find a way to earn passage into the Semi Final.

She has been the steadier player in the tournament so far, and Jessica Pegula can find one more break of serve than Ekaterina Alexandrova and ultimately that may be enough to cover this mark.

Elena Rybakina + 3.5 games v Iga Swiatek: Players would always love to concentrate on the tennis court and only really have to answer questions about things happening between the lines drawn.

Realistically that cannot always be the case when stories break and that is the case for Elena Rybakina who has been questioned about her former Coach Stefano Vukov remaining suspended from being able to work on the Tour.

They had split as Coach and player last year, but Elena Rybakina was hoping to rehire Vukov this year until the WTA stepped in- making the story harder to understand is that the Croatian has been banned for his treatment of Rybakina, which has been denied by the player herself, and the World Number 7 has stated that she wants to concentrate on her tennis moving forward.

There is clearly some relationship between player and Coach, one that goes beyond tennis, but Elena Rybakina is trying to let her tennis do the talking.

Two solid wins have been produced by Elena Rybakina in Doha, but she faces the highest Seed left in the tournament when renewing her rivalry with Iga Swiatek.

Winning the tournament would push Iga Swiatek right up behind Aryna Sabalenka in World Ranking points and the World Number 2 may feel she is playing with 'house money' after fortunately finding her way through to the Quarter Final. The Pole will have to lift her level again if she is going to beat Elena Rybakina, but Iga Swiatek managed to do that at the United Cup to open this season and she also beat this opponent in the Final here in Doha twelve months ago.

Both of those matches have been won on the hard courts in straight sets and Iga Swiatek is always a dangerous player to oppose.

However, Elena Rybakina has been operating at a good level in her two wins and she has a first serve that can just help her through some difficult moments. The return has been working well too this week and Swiatek could be pushed to the limit and that makes the games being given to the underdog look appealing.

In the last five completed matches between these two rivals, Elena Rybakina would have covered with this many games being given to her on four occasions. The exception was the defeat in the Doha Final in 2024, but that was a much closer match than the final scoreline indicated and this time the World Number 7 can ensure the games total remains within the line set.

Ons Jabeur - 2.5 games v Jelena Ostapenko: Last year was a very difficult year for Ons Jabeur and that has contributed to her slipping down to World Number 35, but the run to the Quarter Final has her trending back in a positive direction.

Plenty of fans will be pushing her to try and win the title in Doha and doing that would see Ons Jabeur move back into the top 20 of the World Rankings. The Tunisian may not be thinking beyond each match, and Jabeur has to be feeling more confident with plenty of wins already on the board in 2025.

This is the third time that Ons Jabeur has played a Quarter Final this season, but she has yet to win one of those matches and that is the pressure she will have to deal with on Thursday. She lost a very tight match in this Round against Elena Rybakina last week in Abu Dhabi, but Ons Jabeur reached that stage with a win over Jelena Ostapenko on the way.

The Latvian is the player across the court from Ons Jabeur again and Jelena Ostapenko will be motivated for revenge having lost a tight, competitive match when the players met in Abu Dhabi last week.

That loss had been a part of a poor start to the season for Jelena Ostapenko who had been 1-4 before the start of this event in Doha. Three wins in a row will have given her a real boost in confidence, while Ostapenko may put her poor start to the season down to some tough opening draws.

Losses against Madison Keys and Belinda Bencic can be put into the context of both of those players winning big tournaments this season and so clearly players in some strong form.

The defeat to Ons Jabeur might have hurt a bit more, but Jelena Ostapenko created more Break Points in that match and both sets played were very close.

Both players are performing well here in Doha, especially behind the first serve and that is going to be important for both Jabeur and Ostapenko.

However, Ons Jabeur has been getting a lot more first serves in play and she has protected her second serve more effectively than Jelena Ostapenko and it could be a decisive factor in the outcome of this Quarter Final.

Allowing too many looks at the second serve could be dangerous for Ons Jabeur, especially knowing how aggressive Jelena Ostapenko can be on the return. Getting the Latvian to try and attack the first serve could lead to plenty of mistakes and Ons Jabeur will be well backed by the fans in the stands in her bid to frank the win that was produced when the players met in Abu Dhabi.

It might come down to one or two points in each set, but Ons Jabeur might be able to get through the stickier moments with a more consistent first serve percentage and that could see her cover this handicap mark set.

MY PICKS: Jessica Pegula - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Elena Rybakina + 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (1 Unit)

Ons Jabeur - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-0, + 2.57 Units (3 Units Staked, + 85.67% Yield)