It was not a very good start to the week, but the tournaments being played this week are continuing into the Second Round on Thursday and there are three selections that have been identified below.
Ben Shelton - 1.5 games v Ugo Humbert: Two players that are hugely reliant on the serve have come through the opening Round in Washington and the layers are finding it quite difficult to split them as far as this handicap mark is concerned.
It has not been the 2026 Ben Shelton may have hoped for and he has perhaps taken a bit of time to recover from the injury that forced him to withdraw in the Third Round at the US Open last year. The recovery may have been more about the mental disappointment of having to pull out of his home Grand Slam, rather than the physical recovery, but Shelton has to find his way with some big Ranking Points to defend before the last Slam of the 2026 season begins.
He dropped a set in coming through the First Round, but Ben Shelton continues to be one of the tougher outs on a hard court.
Disappointing defeats at Indian Wells and Miami in Masters events earlier this year will have stung, but Ben Shelton tends to have plenty in the tank to overcome those players he is expected to beat.
One of those will be Ugo Humbert who was a dominant winner in the First Round, but who fell in straight sets when he faced Ben Shelton at the Australian Open back in January.
The Frenchman has struggled when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts this year- Ugo Humbert's service numbers dip a little, but it is the return where he has struggled to have any kind of consistent impact and that has kept him under scoreboard pressure.
Overall his return numbers show Ugo Humbert breaks in 16% of return games played on the hard courts, but that dips to around 5% when only focusing on top 20 opponents in 2026.
It is an edge that Ben Shelton can exploit having created ten Break Points in the match between these two at the Australian Open.
Those fashioned against him amounted to three Break Points and the American player can use his serve to make sure he comes through this Second Round match.
Diana Shanaider - 1.5 games v Anastasia Potapova: Both of these players can point to strong runs during the clay court season for the current World Ranking position, but Diana Schnaider and Anastasia Potapova are both comfortable enough on the hard courts to build on those successes.
Disappointing grass court campaigns are behind both Schnaider and Potapova, while the latter has already beaten Venus Williams here in Washington.
This is the first match for Diana Schnaider who is a top four Seed in the draw and that has allowed her to earn a Bye through the First Round. Sometimes players would rather have a match under their belt than having a Bye through a Round, but Diana Schnaider will have known about her opponent for a couple of days and should be pretty familiar with the Anastasia Potapova game.
They have met on the hard courts earlier this season in the lead into the Australian Open, but Diana Shnaider will be expecting a much tougher match.
Both have struggled in hard court matches against top 50 Ranked opponents this season, but Diana Schnaider has had the edge on the numbers being produced and that could be key in this Second Round match.
The return numbers are similar, but Diana Shnaider is capable of getting a bit more out of the first serve and that could make all the difference on the day.
Alex De Minaur - 5.5 games v Cruz Hewitt: It is quite ridiculous to think Lleyton's son is now a pro Tennis player not because he is, but because it is a reminder of how old some of us have become.
Cruz Hewitt upset the odds to beat Marcos Giron in the First Round, but this is a much stiffer test against the defending Champion who came through a very tough opener in Washington.
Alex De Minaur should be pretty aware of the qualities of Cruz Hewitt and it may feel like the latter is playing a version of his own father in this match. Like Lleyton, Alex De Minaur looks to use his movement to frustrate opponents and make sure he is getting plenty of balls back in play, but also has an ability to turn things around in his favour when the opportunity comes up.
He will have a lot of respect for Cruz Hewitt and the kind of tennis he has been playing in recent weeks, but De Minaur's edge in experience cannot be dismissed.
A two hour match on Wednesday may have done Alex De Minaur some good in building up his rhythm for the remainder of this tournament and he can wear down Cruz Hewitt, who has already achieved plenty from his time in Washington over the last few days.
MY PICKS: Ben Shelton - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Diana Shnaider - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Alex De Minaur - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 0-2, - 2 Units (2 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)
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