European Tour 8- Baltic Sea Darts Open Day 3 Picks 2026 (Sunday 31st May)

The tournament is going to be completed on Sunday, but there have not been a lot of good angles to play over the last two Rounds.

The Baltic Sea Darts Open completed the Third Round earlier in the day and the Quarter Final matches have been set, which begin at the earlier time of 5pm in the United Kingdom.

MY PICKS: Luke Woodhouse/Kevin Doets/Wessel Nijman Treble @ 2.54 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Ryan Joyce @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

French Open Tennis Day 8 Picks 2026 (Sunday 31st May)

It has been a tough couple of days for the Tennis Picks, but the second week is underway at the French Open and the selections from Day 8 can be read below.

Alexander Zverev - 7.5 games v Jesper de Jong: Most of the ambitions that Alexander Zverev would have had when entering professional tennis have been met, but the big miss on his resume is a Grand Slam title. He has reached Finals before and Alexander Zverev should have beaten Dominic Thiem in the US Open Final, but the World Number 3 has come up short and the elusive Major has remained out of his grasp.

Before the French Open began, Alexander Zverev was one of the top three favourites to win the tournament in the absence of Carlos Alcaraz.

The draw placed him in the tougher half of the bracket, but Alexander Zverev remained the favourite to find his way into the Final and the first week of this French Open tournament could not have gone much better for him. As mentioned, Alcaraz already announced he was missing this Grand Slam and later included Wimbledon as he looks to recover from a wrist injury, but the Grand Slam door looks wide open for Alexander Zverev to walk through after both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic were beaten before the Fourth Round.

Alexander Zverev must focus and not think too far ahead, but this Fourth Round match should be one that he is very comfortable with.

The highest Ranked player that Alexander Zverev has beaten in Paris is Tomas Machac, the World Number 43, and the favourite for the title now faces the World Number 106 in the Fourth Round.

The live Ranking has Jesper de Jong moving into the top 80 and he is playing with 'house money' having entered the main draw of the French Open as a Lucky Loser when Arthur Fils had to withdraw. That meant facing former French Open Champion Stan Wawrinka in the First Round, but Jesper de Jong took advantage of his fortune to still be playing in Paris and won that match in four sets, while also upsetting Karen Khachanov in five sets in the Third Round.

Wins like that will give Jesper de Jong a lot of confidence to take into the Fourth Round match, but he will also know that Alexander Zverev represents another raise in level of opponent.

Before the run here, Jesper de Jong had been just 9-8 on the clay courts in the build up to the French Open, while he had a 1-4 record against top 100 Ranked opponents ahead of the upset of Khachanov in the last Round.

His numbers in the previous five matches against top 100 Ranked opponents have seen Jesper de Jong hold 71% of service games played and break in 18%- he outperformed those in the Third Round win, but spending almost four and a half hours on the court is not ideal.

Alexander Zverev dropped a set at the French Open for the first time in the Third Round, but he has been cruising through the draw and this is a player who is 14-0 on the clay courts against players Ranked outside the top 20. He has held 87% of service games and broken in 32% of return games against that competition and so Zverev should be pretty confident he can make progress.

It will certainly help that the highest Ranked player left in the Men's tournament has played Jesper de Jong twice before on the clay courts, once in Hamburg in 2024 and here at the French Open in the Second Round twelve months ago. In that match, Alexander Zverev dropped the first set before cruising past the Dutchman, while holding 91% of service games played across those two matches compared with Jesper de Jong's 56% mark.

Pressure will be building on Alexander Zverev who may feel this is his time to finally win a Grand Slam title, but he should be comfortable in this match up and can cover this spread.

Iga Swiatek - 3.5 games v Marta Kostyuk: At the time of writing, the majority of the top WTA players have made it through to the draw with the exception being Elena Rybakina and this Fourth Round match at the beginning of the second week could give the winner a huge boost in confidence.

In fact, some may even believe that the winner of this Fourth Round contest is the favourite to come out of the bottom half of the French Open draw to reach the Final next Saturday.

Marta Kostyuk is the lower Seed and the underdog,  but the World Number 15 has reached this career high mark earlier this month after winning eleven straight clay court matches, which meant picking up a couple of titles, including the big WTA 1000 event in Madrid. A decision was made to skip Rome, which began days after Madrid, but that has not curtailed the growing confidence and Marta Kostyuk has won three more matches here to reach the Fourth Round of the French Open for just the second time, and just the fourth time she has managed to do that at Grand Slam level.

The best run remains reaching the Quarter Final at the Australian Open in 2024, but Marta Kostyuk's run to the US Open Fourth Round last year was the first time she had reached the second week of a Slam since that run in Melbourne.

It should be noted that in fourteen clay court wins in 2026, Marta Kostyuk has dropped a ser just four times, while the four wins over top 50 Ranked opponents have come in very impressive manner.

Martak Kostyuk has not had to beat anyone Ranked higher than World Number 82 in her three wins at the French Open, but this time she takes on Iga Swiatek who is a four time former Champion here and someone who has not been beaten before the Quarter Final in any of the last six French Open runs.

The World Number 3 has won all three matches in Paris without dropping a set, but Iga Swiatek's build up for the French Open was far from convincing- a Quarter Final defeat in Stuttgart and a Semi Final defeat in Rome was about as good as it got, but that is a surprise for Swiatek fans when you think of her history on the red dirt.

Much like her opponent, Iga Swiatek has still produced some eye-catching numbers on the clay this season and she has a winning record against top 50 Ranked opponents, although not nearly as impressive as the perfect record held by Marta Kostyuk.

However, it is Iga Swiatek who may hold he mental edge having beaten Marta Kostyuk in all three previous matches on the Tour, even if the last of those was in 2024. It has been the Iga Swiatek serve that has proven to be the difference, although in 2026 Marta Kostyuk will feel she has grown with experience to offer a much tougher test than the routine defeats suffered before.

The closest of the three defeats came back in 2021 at the French Open when Iga Swiatek eventually prevailed 6-3, 6-4, but it was the match where Marta Kostyuk was able to have her most consistent success on the return of serve.

Five years on, the Ukrainian will feel she can do even better with a fourteen match winning run on the clay behind her, but the expectation is that Iga Swiatek will still have a little too much knowhow on this surface and can narrowly cover this spread after a battle.

MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 7.5 Games @ 1.72 William Hill (2 Units)

Iga Swiatek - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Elina Svitolina - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 Games @ 1.61 Bet365 (2 Units)

French Open Update: 17-14, + 0.48 Units (58 Units Staked, + 1% Yield)

European Tour 8- Baltic Sea Darts Open Day 2 Picks 2026 (Saturday 30th May)

There are some really good looking matches to be played at the European Tour event in Kiel as the Seeded players join the Baltic Sea Darts Open.

However, it feels like the margins are pretty tight and only two selections will be made from the two Sessions to be played.

Both Picks are from the Day Session, but there will hopefully be stronger options to get behind on Day 3 when the tournament is completed.

Luke Woodhouse to win & over 1.5 180s v Andrew Gilding: In the space of three Players Championship tournaments played earlier this month, both Andrew Gilding and Luke Woodhouse won titles for the first time on the floor.

The latter of those saw Luke Woodhouse beat Andrew Gilding 8-4 in the Final, but both disappointed days later at the European Tour event last weekend.

Luke Woodhouse is one of the Seeded players here and so joins the Baltic Sea Darts Open in the Second Round, but Andrew Gilding does have a win under his belt from the Day Session on Friday. That will at least make himself feel better after the very early loss at the International Darts Open against a struggling opponent, whereas Luke Woodhouse came up short against Kevin Doets having rallied to force a decider.

Both players are capable of heavy scoring, but Luke Woodhouse has perhaps found that treble 20 bed with a bit more regularity and that should see him edge past Goldfinger.

He will have to score well and Luke Woodhouse can add a couple of maximums on his way through to the Third Round.

Joe Cullen to win & over 1.5 180s v Dave Chisnall: Three years ago, Dave Chisnall won the title here, but it has been a tough season for the World Number 26.

Dave Chisnall has lost five of the last six matches played and looked completely out of sorts when being beaten 6-0 by James Wade last week.

His head to head with Joe Cullen will give Dave Chisnall some confidence, but the former has won a match in the tournament and was very unfortunate to loss to Ross Smith last week at European Tour 7. The fact that Ross Smith went on to win the title last time out will at least mean Joe Cullen can believe he is playing well having come up short against the eventual Champion.

As stated before, Joe Cullen can be very difficult to trust with his inconsistencies, but he has produced more positive recent form compared with Dave Chisnall and that could show up in this Second Round match.

MY PICKS: Luke Woodhouse to Win & Over 1.5 180s @ 1.95 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Joe Cullen to Win & Over 1.5 180s @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Baltic Sea Darts Open: 3-1, + 2.29 Units (4 Units Staked, + 57.25% Yield)

French Open Tennis Day 7 Picks 2026 (Saturday 30th May)

Jannik Sinner was beaten and Carlos Alcaraz never made it to Paris and so many Novak Djokovic fans would have been hoping the quest to win a 25th Grand Slam title would end in Paris over the next several days.

At 2-0 ahead in the Third Round, all seemed to be going to plan.

However, Jose Fonseca was able to fight back and outlast the 39 year old and become just the second player to ever beat Novak Djokovic from that position.

Over the next few days and then weeks into Wimbledon, fans will question whether Novak Djokovic will ever have a better chance to win another Grand Slam- even Djokovic has to be wondering if there is enough left in the tank to put together a seven match winning run to do that.

Despite the loss of some big names, the French Open will continue moving forward and the first week of the tournament officially comes to a conclusion on Saturday when the Third Round is completed.

There are some quality players looking to cement their own berths into the second week of this Grand Slam, but they will have to manage what is forecasted to be the one last day of challenging hot conditions. Rain is expected in Paris on Saturday evening and that is going to cool things down, although the roof on the main show court at Roland Garros could be getting significant use over the next several days.

Aryna Sabalenka - 6.5 games v Daria Kasatkina: After seeing the likes of Elena Rybakina and Jannik Sinner dumped out of the French Open before the end of the first week, Aryna Sabalenka and her fans will be happy with the relatively comfortable progress being made.

The wins have not stood out, but they have seen Aryna Sabalenka work herself into the matches and then go through the gears in the second set and the World Number 1 should not have been overly taxed through two Rounds. The match up in this Third Round contest is one that should appeal to Aryna Sabalenka and she has been set as a big favourite, which is not going to be a surprise to anyone.

It has been just shy of two years since Aryna Sabalenka last faced Daria Kasatkina on the Tour, but the former has won seven of the previous seven matches, including the last four in a row. Those have been one-sided wins, although Daria Kasatkina may feel her best chances of upsetting the top Seed will be on a clay court.

She represents Australia these days and at 29 years old, it does feel like Daria Kasatkina's best days are behind her- the World Ranking reflects that with Kasatkina outside of the top 32 having been a top 20 Ranked player twelves month ago.

Over the last twelve months on all surfaces, Daria Kasatkina holds a 20-18 record and that is down to the two wins she has produced at the French Open. Beating opponents Ranked 66 and 218 is not going to prepare Kasatkina for the challenge of facing the very best player on the Tour, while she holds a 6-4 record on the hard courts when facing top 100 Ranked players this season.

Only one of those players has been Ranked inside the top 20 and Daria Kasatkina will be well aware that she is going to have to play some of her best tennis in recent times to offer up a challenge to Aryna Sabalenka.

It should be noted that Aryna Sabalenka had limited clay court preparation ahead of the French Open this season, but that match up against Daria Kasatkina should give the top Seed the confidence to roll through this Third Round match.

Aryna Sabalenka has broken the Daria Kasatkina serve at least four times in each of the last eight matches played against one another and there is a vulnerability to that part of the latter's tennis.

Both previous clay court matches have been won by Aryna Sabalenka too, including once here at Roland Garros, while the heat of Paris should make the Belarusian's serve a key difference between the players.

Amanda Anisimova - 5.5 games v Diane Parry: There is no telling how things may have changed within a match if Julia Grabher was fully healthy, but that is not Amanda Anisimova's issue and she has made it through to the Third Round at the French Open having needed to win just three sets.

After missing the entirety of the clay court season, there will be a concern that Amanda Anisimova will be undercooked the longer this tournament goes on. That is especially the concern if the American is not having to win full matches to progress, although Amanda Anisimova has previously enjoyed enough positive runs at the French Open to feel very confident in her ability.

It probably helps that Amanda Anisimova is moving through a pretty comfortable portion of the draw.

Next up there will be the challenge of facing a home player on what can be rowdy French Open courts, but Amanda Anisimova is rightly set as the favourite she goes up against Diane Parry in the Third Round at Roland Garros.

Diane Parry had shown little form on the clay courts with four straight defeats on the red dirt, but things turned around in Paris, albeit at a 125 level event played earlier in the month. She won the title there and looks to have found some confidence, despite a Second Round exit in Strasbourg last week.

The tournament could have been over for Diane Parry in the First Round when she failed to win a game in the first set against Anhelina Kalinina, but the confidence earned over the last three weeks perhaps turn that match back around. A much more routine win was produced in the Second Round against a Seeded American, but Diane Parry will know that Amanda Anisimova brings a different level of test.

The key for the World Number 92 is going to be serving well and seeing if she can put some pressure on Amanda Anisimova.

However, that would also need Diane Parry to pick up her level on the return and this Third Round match could be one in which Amanda Anisimova is able to turn up the heat to eventually overwhelm the home player.

Covering will be a test, but Amanda Anisimova can find the Breaks needed to edge past this number.

Flavio Cobolli - 1.5 sets v Learner Tien: The upset of the tournament in the Second Round saw Jannik Sinner leaving the French Open draw and that has opened up the top half of the Men's draw at this Grand Slam.

Italians will be very disappointed that the World Number 1 has exited before the start of the second week, but Jannik Sinner's pain could be his compatriot's gain- Flavio Cobolli is the second highest Seed left in the top half of the draw and he has made comfortable progress through the first couple of Rounds.

Flavio Cobolli has not dropped a set in two wins in Paris, but neither player he has beaten have been Ranked higher than Number 92 and that means this is a significant step upwards in the Third Round.

Pressure will have intensified on all in the top half knowing that a huge opportunity has opened up to reach a Grand Slam Final and that is something that Flavio Cobolli will have to deal with. Last year he reached the Quarter Final at Wimbledon, but the clay courts should be a more comfortable surface, although Cobolli has to respect the talent of the player standing on the other side of the net.

In the sole previous match between these players, it was Learner Tien who came through very comfortably, but that was a match played on the clay courts.

Learner Tien did win the title in Geneva in the week leading up to the French Open, and he has now won six clay court matches in succession having previously been just 3-3 on the surface in 2026. Winning the title in Geneva really came out of left field and before this run of wins, Learner Tien had been just 8-14 in clay court matches in his career and that suggests Flavio Cobolli should have perhaps been set as a harder favourite.

In the Second Round, Learner Tien needed five sets and over four hours on the court and that is a potential factor for a player who did not take the week away from action directly before this Grand Slam tournament began. In matches played against top 50 Ranked opponents, Tien had been 1-6 before the run in Geneva when he won three such matches, but he is going to have to dig pretty deep to beat Flavio Cobolli on this surface.

There is so much to like about the way Learner Tien approaches his tennis, but it is Flavio Cobolli who has the edge when it comes to the serving numbers and that could be key.

The lower Ranked player has shown a bit more resiliency in the return, but Flavio Cobolli should be the fresher player on the court and that can see him find a way to win this one, most likely in four sets.

MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 6.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Amanda Anisimova - 5.5 Games @ 2.05 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Diana Shnaider - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Coco Gauff - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Flavio Cobolli - 1.5 Sets @ 1.85 William Hill (2 Units)

Raphael Collignon - 1.5 Sets @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)

Frances Tiafoe - 1.5 Sets @ 2.00 William Hill (2 Units)

French Open Update: 14-10, + 2.88 Units (46 Units Staked, + 6.26% Yield)

European Tour 8- Baltic Sea Darts Open Day 1 Picks 2026 (Friday 29th May)

The long Premier League Darts season which covers the majority of the opening five months of the season has come to a conclusion with Luke Littler regaining the title he lost last year.

Once again it was a Final featuring Littler and Luke Humphries and that has led to new calls for the Premier League format to be changed.

The criticism is that we are seeing the top players face one another far too often in the current format and that is something that will lose the uniqueness of those battles- we all want to see the best face off, but they become special battles when they are not occurring every other week and that is something the PDC should be noting.

The Premier League is over, but the next several weeks are pretty busy on the PDC Tour.

Another European Tour event begins on Friday with the First Round played over two Sessions and this tournament will be competed on Sunday.

Before the next big Ranking event- the World Matchplay in July- there are a number of events taking place that will feature some big names.

The World Cup of Darts is played on the opening weekend of the 2026 Football World Cup, but there are also three European Tour events, two Masters tournaments, and six Players Championship events scheduled to be played.

The cutoff point for entry into the World Matchplay tournament is early July and that means there are plenty of players competing at events to build up their Ranking Points so they can compete.

And that means we are in for another important weekend for those competing, especially as the Baltic Sea Darts Open is missing big names that were involved in Premier League action on Thursday.

Ross Smith took advantage of that last weekend with his first European Tour title and there will be plenty of players involved this weekend who will certainly believe they can pick up the trophy when all is said and done.

Ryan Joyce & Krzysztof Ratajski double: For the second week in a row, Ryan Joyce and Christian Kist meet in a European Tour event, although this time it is a First Round match.

Last week Kist was a late entry into the International Darts Open as he took the place of a Seeded player withdrawing, but he was well beaten by Ryan Joyce.

Relentless is expected to have enough to get the better of Christian Kist again, especially if he can build on last weekend when reaching the Quarter Final.

In the Afternoon Session, Joyce can be doubled up with Krzysztof Ratajski who has plenty of European Tour experience and can edge out Daniel Klose.

The World Number 143 has been playing pretty well, but Ratajski should have a couple of gears to go through and he should be able to reach the Second Round after a bit of a battle.

Niels Zonneveld to win & most 180s v Richard Veenstra: An all-Dutch First Round match should be a decent watch, but the edge has to be with Niels Zonneveld, even if he has not been at his best over the last few weeks.

He is still playing well enough to beat Richard Veenstra, who has lost four matches in a row, and Niels Zonneveld should have the edge in the maximum hitting.

Kevin Doets to win & most 180s v Lukas Wenig: The recent form produced by Lukas Wenig is going to have to be improved significantly if he is going to win this First Round match at the latest European Tour event.

He is a capable player when putting his best foot forward, but the consistency has been lacking and that leaves Wenig vulnerable when coming up against Kevin Doets.

This may be one of the last few occasions when Kevin Doets is asked to play on the opening day of an European Tour event and he is definitely going to be targeting a place at the World Matchplay.

Kevin Doets will be disappointed to have been beaten in the Third Round last week at the International Darts Open, but he has the scoring power to make sure he begins another positive run at the Baltic Sea Darts Open.

Dirk van Duijvenbode to win & most 180s v Paul Krohne: Doubling is always going to be the key to winning any Darts match and it was the finishing that let Dirk van Duijvenbode down last week in his defeat to Rob Cross.

His scoring remains an important part of his game and the Dutchman should have enough of that to create more chances to win Legs and then Matches.

Paul Krohne has flashed his ability on European Tour events in 2026, but this is another level compared with his usual competition.

That has meant losing three in a row and Dirk van Duijvenbode can complete the Match Double within this First Round contest. 

MY PICKS: Ryan Joyce & Krzysztof Ratajski Double @ 2.09 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Niels Zonneveld to Win & Most 180s @ 2.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Kevin Doets to Win & Most 180s @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Dirk van Duijvenbode to Win & Most 180s @ 2.20 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 74-102, - 14.85 Units (173 Units Staked, - 8.58% Yield)

French Open Tennis Day 6 Picks 2026 (Friday 29th May)

It felt unlikely that a higher Seed than Elena Rybakina would drop out of the French Open before the end of the first week, but the incredibly hot conditions ended up being a huge factor in Jannik Sinner's demise at the tournament.

At 6-3, 6-2, 5-1, the top Seed looked to be making routine progress into the Third Round.

Suddenly the heat got on top of him as Jannik Sinner mentioned feeling dizzy and sick and he then lost 18 of the next 20 games to be dumped out of a tournament in which he was a clear favourite after Carlos Alcaraz was unable to travel to Paris.

At the start of the tournament, it felt like the Women's Tournament was wide open, but the Men's now feels the exact same way.

Alexander Zverev will be favourite, but there is going to be a huge amount of pressure on all those competing knowing the opportunity that has come up and the bottom half of the draw looks much tougher to negotiate than the top.

The remaining ten days at this event are going to be fascinating.

It was not a very good day at all for the Tennis Picks- a couple were simply poor selections, while one retirement and a player losing their way in the second set after taking the opener contributed to a poor day in the office.

Overall the French Open remains in a positive position, but Friday is about bouncing back as the Third Round gets underway.

Rafael Jodar - 5.5 games v Alex Michelsen: The inspiration of Rafael Nadal means the top Spanish players are no longer considered clay court specialists, but capable of performing on all surfaces on the Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz has taken up the baton from Nadal, but he is missing at the French Open in 2026 and the Spanish media will be very much focusing on Rafael Jodar, the teenager who has enjoyed a really strong clay court season in the build up to Roland Garros.

It has been such a strong build up that Rafael Jodar has moved from World Number 89 in early April to one of the Seeding positions at the French Open. He is very confident on the hard courts too, but the clay is where he has made his move on the Tour and Rafael Jodar has to believe that the minimum expectation at this Grand Slam is reaching the Quarter Final.

Some will think that is overconfidence from someone who is playing in just his second Grand Slam tournament, but Rafael Jodar won a title in Marrakech before reaching the Semi Final in Barcelona and the Quarter Final at back to back ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.

Suffice to say, he is feeling pretty good about his tennis and Rafael Jodar has dropped a single set through the first two Rounds.

There is an argument to be made that Rafael Jodar made life a little more difficult in the Second Round than he perhaps should have, but winning breeds confidence and no one should be surprised that he has been set as a big favourite in this Third Round match.

All credit has to be given to Alex Michelsen for finding his way through to the Third Round and the American could soon return to being a Seed at Grand Slam events having reached World Number 30 back in July last year. These days he is the World Number 42, which makes Michelsen one of those awkward early Round opponents that Seeds could run into, but he is at his most vulnerable on the clay courts.

The two wins at the French Open have been against the World Number 88 in the First Round and then the World Number 148 in the Second Round and the early loss for Taylor Fritz has opened things up for Alex Michelsen. Prior to the French Open, Alex Michelsen had compiled a 4-6 record on the clay courts and a player who is reliant on his serve finds it hard to deal with a 72% hold rate on the red dirt.

He wants to be aggressive, but that is not the right way to approach clay court tennis and it has put Alex Michelsen under pressure to deliver on the return, which is still a developing part of his game.

This is expected to play out in this Third Round match in Paris on Friday and Rafael Jodar should have a bit too much know-how on this surface for Alex Michelsen.

Rafael Jodar is 16-1 when facing opponents outside of the top 20 in the World Rankings on the clay courts this season- in the fifteen matches played before the French Open, Rafael Jodar has held 86% of service games in that situation and broken in 37% of return games and that is a level that should break down Alex Michelsen in this best of five set format and give the Spaniard every opportunity of covering a wide spread.

Alex De Minaur - 5.5 games v Jakub Mensik: These two players had extremely different experiences in the French Open Second Round and it is Alex De Minaur who HAS to be in better shape going into the Third Round.

The Australian received a Walkover into the Third Round, while opponent Jakub Mensik had to battle for twenty minutes shy of five hours to eventually prevail in five sets... That alone would not be an issue this early into a Grand Slam tournament, but Jakub Mensik was playing in incredibly hot conditions and had to be taken off in a wheelchair at the conclusion of the match.

Earlier in the week, Casper Ruud came through a five setter and won his next match having described himself as a 'zombie' on the court in what have been crazy conditions in Paris. At 20 years old, Jakub Mensik is likely to have pretty good recovery and he has admitted that he felt much better having spent some time off of a court that had almost no shade from the blistering heat of Wednesday.

On Friday it is expected to still be very humid in Paris, but overcast conditions may help- the sun beating down on anybody makes a big difference and so Jakub Mensik is going to feel he is ready to compete.

A bigger challenge is the opponent who reached the Semi Final in Hamburg and Alex De Minaur made pretty comfortable work of Toby Samuel in his sole match at the French Open. The Australian is unsurprisingly happier on the faster surfaces of the Tour, but over the last couple of years, Alex De Minaur has shown he can battle on the clay and his speed and effort around the courts will make it tough for any opponent to break him down.

Prior to the French Open, Jakub Mensik was only holding a 3-3 record on the clay in the lead up to the second Grand Slam of the season. The World Number 27 does bring a dangerous serve into play, but you do have to wonder if there is not going to be some impact on his ability to show patience that may be needed to break down Alex De Minaur.

Jakub Mensik is much happier on the hard courts, but he has lost all five previous matches against Alex De Minaur and all of that surface, which should aid his game more than the clay courts.

They have played nine completed sets against one another and Alex De Minaur has won eight of those, including a straight sets win at the United Cup leading up to the Australian Open earlier this season.

A statistic that is almost certainly going to end in this Third Round match is the fact that Alex De Minaur has NEVER been broken by Jakub Mensik- on a clay court, that is close to impossible to happen again.

However, it does tell you that the match up is pretty good in favour of the higher Ranked player and Alex De Minaur has also broken in 26% of return games played and on faster surfaces. Any time the World Number 7 sees the second serve, Alex De Minaur is going to feel he can win the rallies and the extra strength he should have in this Third Round match is likely going to be a critical factor as he looks to move past Jakub Mensik in a good looking contest.

MY PICKS: Rafael Jodar - 5.5 Games @ 1.60 William Hill (2 Units)

Alex De Minaur - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 1.5 Sets @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Karen Khachanov - 1.5 Sets @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Belinda Bencic - 4.5 Games @ 2.05 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Sorana Cirstea - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

French Open Update: 11-7, + 3.80 Units (34 Units Staked, + 11.18% Yield)

Premier League Darts Finals Night Picks 2026 (Thursday 28th May)

Sixteen Premier League Nights have been completed and half of the field have been eliminated ahead of Finals Night.

You would say that the four best players have made their way to the O2 Arena where the Semi Final and Final will be played over the course of a few hours.

Defending Champion Luke Humphries is going to be involved in the second Semi Final having moved past Gerwyn Price and that means facing Jonny Clayton rather than Luke Littler.

Anyone who thinks that means we are definitely getting the Luke vs Luke Final for a third year in a row in the Premier League should be careful about overlooking two proud Welshmen, but it is no surprise that the layers have set that as the favourite outcome of the two Semi Finals.

None of these four players decided to take in the European Tour event played last weekend and that means there should be no excuses about fatigue with a big title and big prize money to be decided on the night.

Luke Littler to win & over 5.5 180s v Gerwyn Price: Twelve months ago, there was a real feeling that Luke Littler did not like playing Gerwyn Price and it did feel like the Welshman was winning just as many matches as the teenage star of the PDC Tour.

Fifteen of the last sixteen meetings between these players have now ended in Luke Littler wins- some have been competitive, but those are numbers that begin to get into a player's head and that has to be the case in this Semi Final.

The last eight matches between the players have all been won by Luke Littler and you have to believe the World Number 1 is going to be more focused on Finals Night than he has seemingly been in the last month.

Even then he has won matches and it would be a big surprise if Luke Littler is not competing in the Premier League Final later in the evening.

Gerwyn Price has been battling through some kind of health issue, although he has not mentioned exactly what he has been dealing with.

He sounded more positive about his status ahead of the Premier League Finals Night when stating that he would not be playing on the European Tour this weekend, but will be back looking to pick up Ranking Points after a short holiday. That is good news for Gerwyn Price and his fans and he should push Luke Littler, which will give the World Number 1 enough time to reach at least six maximums in any winning effort he can produce.

Luke Humphries to win & most 180s v Jonny Clayton: This is the sixth meeting between these players in 2026 and it is Jonny Clayton who has three wins compared with two for Luke Humphries.

That alone may make some believe there is value in backing Jonny Clayton as a significant underdog- he also finished seven points clear of Luke Humphries in the Premier League standings.

However, it should be noted that the last meeting between the players was in early April and there is no denying the quality that Luke Humphries has put together in May.

Luke Humphries reached the Final of the last four Premier League Nights and the defending Champion of this tournament has also won a Players Championship title in that time. Some consider Luke Humphries' recent form as being the best on the Tour and he will certainly be arriving at the O2 Arena with a lot of confidence.

Throughout this season, there has been little wrong with the power scoring produced by Luke Humphries, but the real turnaround of the form has been down to the doubling.

Misses almost cost him a chance to defend his title at the O2 Arena, but Humphries has shown some confidence at the Doubles and that is likely going to give him the edge.

On his day, Jonny Clayton is more than capable of matching any player on the Tour, but Luke Humphries has lifted his level considerably since they last met and the World Number 2 can book his place in the Premier League Final after completing the match double.

MY PICKS: Luke Littler to Win & Over 5.5 180s @ 2.15 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Luke Humphries to Win & Most 180s @ 2.60 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 73-101, - 15 Units (171 Units Staked, - 8.77% Yield)