Indian Wells Tennis Day 12 Picks 2026 (Sunday 15th March)

It did prove to be a difficult tournament to turn around after the two ATP Semi Finals were split 1-1, but that does not mean we move past the last day of the Indian Wells Masters.

The two Finals are both scheduled to be played on the day and both look like they could be very enjoyable for the neutrals tuning in.

A repeat of the Women's Australian Open Final and a Men's Final featuring two of the very best hard court players in the world can only be a positive and my thoughts can be read below.

Aryna Sabalenka - 1.5 games v Elena Rybakina: A repeat of the Australian Open Final will be played in the Indian Wells Final and both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have put together strong runs here.

Out of the two players, Aryna Sabalenka has been producing the higher level of tennis, but she has also struggled to get the better of this opponent.

In the last nine hard court matches between the pair, it is Elena Rybakina who has won seven times including in Melbourne in January. They met three times on the hard courts in 2025 and Rybakina won two of those, while the sole meeting in Indian Wells was also won in the Final by the World Number 3 in 2023.

All of that will give her a lot of confidence, but Aryna Sabalenka will feel she was very unfortunate to lose the Australian Open Final and the performances so far in the Indian Wells conditions will give her confidence in turning that form around. She has found it very difficult to read the Rybakina serve, but it was the World Number 1 who had more Break Points in the defeat in Melbourne and that is another reason Sabalenka can believe she has the game to get the better of this rival.

Aryna Sabalenka has been the much stronger server so far this week and she can certainly contain much of the threat from the World Number 3, although there is always that mental pressure to deal with.

That comes from the fact she has lost so many recent matches against Elena Rybakina, but the latter has not been nearly as impressive as the top Seed. That is not to say that Elena Rybakina has played poorly, but the wins have been in more competitive matches, even if that can sometimes be a help rather than a hindrance.

Both players should produce some good tennis in this Final, but the narrow edge is rightly with Aryna Sabalenka and she may just pick up a big title that gives her momentum to carry into the clay court season after a stop in Miami later this month.

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: The win over Carlos Alcaraz will have given Daniil Medvedev a huge amount of confidence and has also maintained what has been a really strong run of form being produced by the World Number 11.

He now takes aim at winning back to back titles and arguably the biggest one anyone can win outside of the Grand Slams when competing for the Indian Wells trophy.

Daniil Medvedev served really well in the Semi Final win and he is going to have to do the same if he is going to put together a rare tournament in which a player beats the top two players in the world in back to back matches.

Beating Carlos Alcaraz means Daniil Medvedev is more than capable of winning this Final, but there will be a lot of respect for the way Jannik Sinner is playing and the World Number 2 produced a dominant win over Alexander Zverev in the Semi Final.

No one is going to be surprised to read that Jannik Sinner has been serving well, but it is the aggressive performance on the return that has proved to be the key to the Italian reaching his first Final of the 2026 season. This week Sinner has broken in almost 40% of return games played and dealing with the very solid Alexander Zverev serve will mean he is not intimidated by what Daniil Medvedev can produce.

Jannik Sinner began his career by losing the first six matches against Daniil Medvedev, but he has now won eight of the last nine matches, including the last three in a row.

Eight wins in a row have been produced on the hard courts and Jannik Sinner would have covered what looks like a big line in the last four hard court matches played in a best of three set format.

During this eight match winning run on the hard courts, Jannik Sinner has held 90% of his service games compared with Daniil Medvedev's 75% mark and that is a significant difference.

Respect has to be given to Daniil Medvedev for the current level being produced, but it is still a little short of the standard being set by Jannik Sinner and the latter can win the Indian Wells title with a solid looking success on the scoreboard.

MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (1 Unit)

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 William Hill (1 Unit)

Indian Wells Update: 12-14, - 3.98 Units (26 Units Staked, - 15.31% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Saturday 28th February)

The latest week on the Tour is coming to a close this weekend before both Tours come together in Indian Wells next week.

It has been a really good week for the Tennis Picks with the ATP Dubai and Acapulco Finals set to be played on Saturday.

All of the selections have been from the tournament in Dubai where some of the bigger names have been in action, while the other events being played have seen the top Seeds falling pretty early.

After Saturday, the next selections will be from the Indian Wells Masters, although I am still not sure whether there will be any before the Second Round gets underway, at least on the WTA Tour which is going to be starting on the schedule.

The draw will dictate that, but there is one more selection to come from the ATP Dubai Final, which can be read below.

Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 games v Tallon Griekspoor: These two players have only met once on the Tour and that was right here in Dubai twelve months ago in a Quarter Final match.

On that occasion it was Tallon Griekspoor who somehow stayed in the match having been the inferior player for a couple of sets, but who then went on to win the match and move through to the Semi Final.

In the first two sets, Griekspoor faced 14 Break Points compared with the 5 Break Points he created and he was gracious enough to admit that he had a bit of fortune on his side.

The World Number 25 stated the same thing after the Semi Final over Andrey Rublev on Friday having overcome significant issues with his hamstring- Tallon Griekspoor admitted that he may have pulled out of the match if he had not won the First Set and then rallied deep into the Second Set Tie-Breaker to come through in straight sets.

Throughout his press conference, Tallon Griekspoor made it clear that the next twenty-four hours were all about recovery as he prepares to play in his second ATP 500 Final and just the sixth on the Tour.

It was the serve that proved to be the big weapon for Griekspoor in his Semi Final win and he will need to be as close as possible to full health to make sure that remains the case.

Daniil Medvedev has been in very good form all week in Dubai and his dominant win over Felix Auger Aliassime underlines his danger.

The return of serve continues to be a big part of the Medvedev success and he has also been using the conditions very well in the tournament when it comes to his own delivery. He had Felix Auger Aliassime under pressure throughout the Semi Final and Daniil Medvedev should be able to do the same against this opponent.

His focus will have to be on the tennis he wants to play and not just expecting a wounded opponent to just crumble in front of him- one of the mistakes made by Andrey Rublev was allowing Tallon Griekspoor to get himself into a rhythm, but Medvedev will extend rallies and wear down the underdog.

The form shown this week gives Daniil Medvedev a big edge, even if Tallon Griekspoor was at full health, and he can win yet another match with a strong look on the scoreboard.

MY PICK: Daniil Medvedev - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 8-2, + 5.29 Units (10 Units Staked, + 52.90% Yield)

WTA Finals Day 8 Tennis Pick 2025 (Saturday 8th November)

The ATP Finals are set to begin on Sunday, but there is still one place up for grabs at the tournament which will be decided on Saturday in Athens.

Next year the Paris Masters will be the 'cut off' for the ATP Finals and the draw can then be made with the full eight participants.

The Athens Final features Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti- the latter needs to win to earn his place in Turin, which means so much to the Italian, while it also means the ATP Finals will start with a match from each Group rather than the usual format.

It seems like yet another moment in the 2025 season where the scheduling is a cause for complaint and that is something the Tour needs to get together and resolve next year.

Before we get to the ATP Finals, the WTA Singles season comes to a close on Saturday in Riyadh.

The Final should be a decent one between two players who have met plenty of times on the Tour and who have each won all four matches in the event.

Elena Rybakina v Aryna Sabalenka: This has the makings of a pretty fun Final between two big hitting players who will know that they will need to serve well if they are going to win one of the biggest titles outside of the Grand Slam events.

The World Number 1 has shown why she has reached the pinnacle of the sport with some battling wins in the tournament- Aryna Sabalenka has won all four matches, but she has had to battle to get past Coco Gauff on Thursday and had to dig even deeper to see off Amanda Anisimova in the Friday Semi Final.

Playing for a third straight day is something that most tennis players are well accustomed to doing, but Aryna Sabalenka will have to find something in the reserve tank to get her through one more tough challenge.

Her opponent in the Final in Riyadh is Elena Rybakina who has won half of the previous ten matches against Aryna Sabalenka on the hard courts. The most recent was won by Sabalenka in the Wuhan Quarter Final, but Elena Rybakina had won the previous three hard court matches and that includes beating the World Number 1 in Riyadh twelve months ago.

The one concern for Elena Rybakina fans is that the performances have gotten a little weaker in each match played in the tournament, although she has found a way to keep winning.

In the main the reason for that is the serve and that has continued to operate at a very good level.

Elena Rybakina admitted that it was that shot that got her out of some late trouble in the Semi Final win over Jessica Pegula, but she will be confident that she has been serving at a more consistent level compared with Aryna Sabalenka.

In a match up between these players, that serve is going to be a difference maker and Elena Rybakina has shown she can compete with Aryna Sabalenka in that department.

Having a bit more rest ahead of the Final could help and Elena Rybakina has been playing at a higher level in this tournament- she looks like she is focused and motivated to go on and win a big title and Rybakina can replicate the win she had over Aryna Sabalenka here in Riyadh in what could be another three set match between the pair.

MY PICK: Elena Rybakina to Win @ 2.40 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

WTA Finals: 7-6, + 0.01 Units (13 Units Staked, + 0% Yield)

Cincinnati Masters Tennis Picks 2025 (Monday 18th August)

You have to believe the organisers of the new look Mixed Doubles tournament at the US Open are just as frustrated with the scheduling of the Masters events this summer as the players and fans.

That tournament was designed to be played in the week leading up to the US Open and the theory behind it is that the top players can all be involved. Looking through the draw, the top names are scheduled to play, but the Cincinnati Final being played on a Monday may mean the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are not able to join their partners in New York City and especially not with the Mixed Doubles set to begin on Tuesday.

They are young enough to play in what will feel like an exhibition setting, but a long Final on Monday may mean rest is more important ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season.

The top two ATP players meet on Monday and they are going to be clear favourites to face one another again at the US Open on the final Sunday of that tournament.

It would be the third straight Grand Slam Final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and there would be no doubt that we have entered a new era of Men's tennis if that comes about.

Those two players go out first before the WTA Final featuring Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini and then all eyes will be on the US Open with less than seven days to go before the last Grand Slam of 2025 gets underway.

Jannik Sinner - 2.5 games v Carlos Alcaraz: These two players are clearly the top two on the ATP Tour and it will take a brave person to oppose either winning the next Grand Slam at the US Open.

It was Carlos Alcaraz who beat Jannik Sinner at the French Open and that continued what had been an increasing dominance in the rivalry, but the Italian earned revenge with a very strong win in the Wimbledon Final to prevent Alcaraz from winning for a third straight year at SW19.

After losing five times in a row to Carlos Alcaraz, that win at Wimbledon feels very importsant for Jannik Sinner who has seemingly overwhelmed everyone else barring the Spaniard.

To back up that point, since the start of 2024, Jannik Sinner has lost just THREE hard court matches and he has won all three hard court Slams played in those twenty months. However, TWO of those losses have been against Carlos Alcaraz and the World Number 1 has not beaten him on this surface since October 2023 and so this is another opportunity for Sinner to lay down a marker to his fiercest rival ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season.

Despite the head to head record, Jannik Sinner's win at Wimbledon will be one that has helped him overcome the mental hurdle, especially considering he had Championship Points before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open Final.

The match up is clearly a tough one, but Sinner is playing at an incredible level right now and it may be one that is difficult for Carlos Alcaraz to reach on a consistent basis.

There is nothing wrong with the way that Carlos Alcaraz is playing here in Cincinnati and on the hard courts in general, but the match feels more about what Sinner is able to do.

If the World Number 1 serves as well as he has been, he should have the majority of the Break Point chances in this Final and that is key to winning the match. Last year Carlos Alcaraz was the superior return player in the two matches played on the hard courts against Jannik Sinner and the World Number 2 will be inspired to try and lay down a marker ahead of the US Open, but Jannik Sinner showed again in Melbourne how much he has improved and he may just have the momentum to back up the win at Wimbledon by snapping the hard court run of defeats against this opponent.

Iga Swiatek - 5.5 games v Jasmine Paolini: This is a big spread for the WTA Cincinnati Final, but Iga Swiatek has come out of the tougher half of the draw and has looked much more convincing overall compared with Jasmine Paolini.

They did play out a competitive match on the hard courts at the end of last season, although that was after Iga Swiatek had served a suspension and it perhaps meant her rhythm was not quite where she would have expected.

Despite that, Iga Swiatek did end up with the victory and she has since crushed Paolini on the grass courts in the build up to Wimbledon, which was surprisingly won by Iga Swiatek too.

After the early loss in Montreal, Jasmine Paolini may not have arrived with a huge burden of expectation to carry, but this is a player who is willing to dig in and fight for everything she achieves. 2025 has not been as memorable as 2024, at least not yet, but Paolini still entered this tournament as a top ten Ranked player and wins over the likes of Coco Gauff will give her plenty of confidence.

The 29 year old had not been showing a lot of positive form on the hard courts prior to the Cincinnati event beginning- the key this week has been the success behind theserve and Jasmine Paolini is going to have to serve well to keep Iga Swiatek at bay.

That is a huge challenge considering how well the soon to be World Number 2 is playing, although this is a different kind of test for Iga Swiatek. Previous matches have seen her get the better of bigger hitters than Jasmine Paolini, but it is the movement of the Italian that makes her tough to beat, even on a faster hard court.

Iga Swiatek is serving with more authority though and that can see her set up a few more 'easier' points and that can help ease the scoreboard pressure. Instead it may be Paolini who has to deal with that and it also will not be lost on the latter that she has struggled in the majority of matches against Swiatek.

Back to back matches of over two hours is another factor considering the ease in which Iga Swiatek has made her way through the draw and one of the real contenders to win the US Open can head to New York City with a big title in the bag. Covering will not be easy against this handicap mark, but the expectation is that Iga Swiatek will have enough Break Point chances to do that if she maintains current serving levels against an opponent that has struggled to deal with the Pole on the Tour.

MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Iga Swiatek - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 6-8, - 2.63 Units (14 Units Staked, - 18.79% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Saturday 22nd February)

The Tour will conclude moving through the Middle East next week in Dubai when the ATP 500 event is played, but the WTA Tour completes the 1000 event that has been played this past week.

The Final involves two young players that may end up fighting it out for Grand Slam titles in the future and both have had very good weeks with big wins behind them.

Before the ATP 500 event in Dubai, the ATP Doha Final is played after two tough Semi Final matches were completed.

Mirra Andreeva - 2.5 games v Clara Tauson: Some of the leading names on the WTA Tour are Grand Slam Champions, but two young players have worked their way through to the Final in Dubai in a big 1000 event.

There is a huge amount of expectation on the shoulders of 22 year old Clara Tauson and 17 year old Mirra Andreeva and the two players have seen off Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina on their way through to the Final. It is Tauson who beat the current World Number 1, but Andreeva's two wins over Swiatek and Rybakina are plenty impressive and suffice to say the two youngsters deserve their spot in a showcase spot.

It is a situation that both teams will believe their player will be involved in at Grand Slam level in the years ahead, but there is some pressure to put a big title in the trophy cabinet. Both Clara Tauson and Mirra Andreeva will know what kind of spark winning a WTA 1000 event could have for their relatively young careers and both are already assured of ending this tournament with a career best World Ranking.

A win for Mirra Andreeva would actually take her into the top 10 for the first time, while a victory for her opponent would push Clara Tauson into the top 20.

Neither player will be thinking of anything other than winning the match and the slight edge may have to be given to Mirra Andreeva and her capabilities on the return of serve.

Take nothing away from the way the two players have been backing up the first serve with over 70% of points won when that serve lands, and they both have a similar success rate in getting the first serve in play. However, Mirra Andreeva may feel she protects her second serve a little more effectively than Clara Tauson has been this week, and overall on the hard courts in 2025, and that may be a difference.

It certainly suggests Andreeva can get into the rallies and show off her superior returning ability and that may just see the younger player find a way to win this match.

Clara Tauson has battled through adversity this week, and that has to be given credit, but Mirra Andreeva showed her character in fighting back to beat Elena Rybakina in a third set decider. You cannot rule out the Dane if she is behind, but Mirra Andreeva can make a few headlines by winning this big title before moving onto the North American hard court events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Jack Draper-Andrey Rublev over 23.5 games: Both Semi Final matches lasted well into the third hour and it is Jack Draper and Andrey Rublev who have earned the opportunity to win the title in Doha.

Both players have also shown plenty of character having come through in three sets in each of the last two Rounds- Jack Draper dropped the first set against both Matteo Berrettini and Jiri Lehecka before fighting back, while Andrey Rublev dropped the middle set in the Quarter Final and Semi Final and won a final set tie-breaker against both Alex De Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime to progress.

With that in mind, you have to think both Draper and Rublev are going to be filled with confidence when they take to the court with a big title on the line.

After an inconsistent start to 2025 either through injury or being out of form, this is a big chance for Jack Draper and Andrey Rublev to just put a spark behind them and push on for even bigger and better things going forward.

The serve has been a big weapon for both Jack Draper and Andrey Rublev this week and this is going to be a key shot again.

Jack Draper has held 93% of the service games played, while Andrey Rublev has done the same in 92% of his service games.

The British player has had a bit more success on the return of serve, but Break Points are going to be hard to come by in this match and there is every chance it is a Final that surpasses this total games line that has been set.

Andrey Rublev may hold the mental advantage having won all three previous matches against Jack Draper, but they have not faced one another since 2023 and the latter has won a set in two of the three matches played. We know Jack Draper is much better than he was back then, but it might be a tough task in breaking down Andrey Rublev's game and this looks like a match that will potentially go long.

MY PICKS: Mirra Andreeva - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Jack Draper-Andrey Rublev Over 23.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 7-7, - 0.92 Units (14 Units Staked, - 6.57% Yield)

ATP World Tour Finals Day 8 Picks 2024- Men's Final (Sunday 17th November)

The last big Singles match in the 2024 season will decide the Champion of the World Tour Finals and it is a match that we have already seen in Turin.

Both Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner were playing in the same Group and they will meet with the title on the line on Sunday in what is also a repeat of the US Open Final from September.

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Taylor Fritz: After wins over Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon and the US Open, Taylor Fritz dug in to see off the German in a very close, competitive Semi Final on Saturday.

This means Taylor Fritz has surpassed his own expectations of the tournament and he has certainly gotten the mental edge over Zverev, but backing that up and winning the biggest title of his career is going to be another significant challenge for the American.

He may have had a bit more time to rest and recover ahead of the Final, but Jannik Sinner made very easy work of Casper Ruud in his own Semi Final and so that is not expected to be a factor.

There is no doubt that the toughest win that Sinner has had in this tournament was against Taylor Fritz in the Group- he has broken the other three opponents at least three times, but Jannik Sinner was 'only' able to do that twice against Fritz in that match.

What should be noted is that Jannik Sinner had considerably more success on the return of serve against Taylor Fritz than anyone has managed in Turin. Taylor Fritz has won at least 70% of the service points played in each of the three wins this week, but that number dropped to 62% against Jannik Sinner and there is no doubt that the underdog will be under more pressure to hit his marks.

At his best, Taylor Fritz can do that, but he invested a lot into the Semi Final win over Alexander Zverev and the scoreboard pressure could be tough to deal with.

Jannik Sinner has served at a high level all week and he will likely keep Taylor Fritz contained on this side of the court, while building the pressure with his return.

Covering this spread will not be easy, especially if Taylor Fritz wins the toss and decides to serve first.

However, the Italian World Number 1 has found a way to get on top of the Fritz serve for long enough to create the Break Points and, ultimately, move into a position to win the title with a good looking win on the scoreboard. Last season Sinner had to face an opponent he had beaten in the Group Stage in the Final of this tournament and was beaten by Novak Djokovic, but twelve months on and Sinner is the best hard court player in the world who can round out 2024 with yet another strong win on the surface.

MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 2.25 Bet365 (1 Unit)

World Tour Finals Update: 10-4, + 4.46 Units (14 Units Staked, + 31.86% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2024 (Saturday 24th February)

We are down to the last couple of days of the latest week on the ATP/WTA Tour, although three of the four events that have been focused on are actually coming to a close on Saturday rather than Sunday.

The Finals in Dubai, Doha and Los Cabos are all scheduled for Saturday- the former two events are played in the Middle East where Finals tend to be concluded on the Saturday, while Los Cabos have organised a way for their players reaching the business end of the tournament to have a bit of recovery time if they are going to be playing at any of the big ATP 500 events that are set for next week before attention turns to Indian Wells and Miami.

Any selections from the two tournaments in Central and South America will be added when the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals are concluded, while there won't be a selection from the ATP Doha Final.

The lean is with Karen Khachanov there, but Jakub Mensik has overcome the odds and the numbers and is playing with a real belief that could be tough to shake off.

Instead the sole Pick so far is from the surprising WTA Final in Dubai as the focus begins to shift towards a new week once this one hopefully comes to a positive conclusion.

Anna Kalinskaya - 3.5 games v Jasmine Paolini: Wins over three top 10 Ranked opponents has pushed Anna Kalinskaya into the biggest match of her career and a real opportunity to back up her run at the Australian Open.

A new career high World Ranking awaits when those are published on Monday morning, but a place inside the top 20 will be secured if Anna Kalinskaya can win the WTA 1000 event in Dubai.

Her opponent is also something of a surprise considering this is one of the top events outside of the Grand Slam events that players on the WTA Tour will play. Jasmine Paolini has perhaps not had as tough a run as Anna Kalinskaya, who has beaten the World Number 9, Number 3 and Number 1 in consecutive Rounds, but the Italian has made her way through the draw against three players who are Ranked higher than herself.

Benefiting from Elena Rybakina's withdrawal ahead of the Quarter Final match will have helped, but it has been a solid year so far for Jasmine Paolini who has cracked the top 20 of the World Rankings.

There is no doubting the level being produced by Jasmine Paolini, but she is going to be facing an opponent who is getting plenty of joy out of her first serve and who has been playing elite tennis from the baseline. Any player that can rally with Iga Swiatek and begin to overpower the World Number 1 has to be given plenty of respect.

Anna Kalinskaya also has a slight mental edge having crushed Jasmine Paolini at the Australian Open last month.

She served with real intensity in that Fourth Round match and the conditions in Dubai are clearly favouring the big hitting produced by the Russian who had to come through the Qualifiers to even make the main draw.

That does mean she has played a lot of tennis this week, but Anna Kalinskaya will have a couple of weeks off after this match and she can put her all into it.

Jasmine Paolini will not roll over and has shown some quality form to reach the Final herself, but she is not quite playing as well as Anna Kalinskaya who has been producing her results against some of the very best players on the Tour. Emotionally this is a step down with the expectation on Kalinskaya's shoulders after being the underdog in the last couple of Rounds, but she has shown she can handle those in the earlier Rounds and can be backed to win the biggest title of her career.

MY PICKS: Anna Kalinskaya - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Week Update: 18-13, + 5.50 Units (62 Units Staked, + 8.87% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2024 (Sunday 18th February)

The WTA Dubai 1000 event is starting on Sunday and the three ATP Finals from the tournaments that began last week are to be played on the day too.

Picks from the three Finals will be placed here when the markets are released, but the sole selection from Dubai can be read below.

Caroline Garcia - 1.5 games v Ashlyn Krueger: After a decent showing at the United Cup in preparation for the Australian Open, Caroline Garcia might have been hoping to have had more positive results behind her as we get into the big tournament in Dubai.

It has not worked out nearly as well as that and the former World Number 4 has been beaten in four of her last five matches, while Caroline Garcia has suffered early defeats in both Abu Dhabi and Doha ahead of this WTA 1000 event.

To be fair to the Frenchwoman, she has had a couple of tough matches to deal with and her last three defeats have been by very tight margins.

The First Round draw in Dubai offers Caroline Garcia a good opportunity to at least snap her losing run in this match against Ashlyn Krueger, the 19 year old American who has yet to break into the top 70 of the World Rankings.

Ashlyn Krueger has struggled to really make an impact against the stronger players on the WTA Tour as she tries to make her tennis work at this level. One positive for Krueger is that she has put a number of wins together in Abu Dhabi and Doha, albeit in the Qualifying Rounds, which will at least give her a bit of belief on the court.

However, the record over the last twelve months against top 50 Ranked players on the hard courts has been very disappointing for Ashlyn Krueger and shows the kind of gap she will still need to bridge in this match.

In that time span, Ashlyn Krueger has a 1-8 record against top 50 Ranked opponents on the surface and her second serve has been really vulnerable. It has been tough for her to recover in those matches with the return not being as effective as the American would like and there is no doubt that Caroline Garcia can be a very good server when feeling at her best.

On current form it is hard to know if we are going to see that, but Caroline Garcia should still be good enough to find her way through to the Second Round at this big tournament.

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Alex De Minaur: The Final in Rotterdam looks a good one for the fans, but it is hard to oppose the Australian Open Champion.

Jannik Sinner has played well here this week and this is a player looking to rack up the World Ranking points as he bids to challenge for the top spot at the end of the year. Winning one Slam puts him well on the way, but winning titles at the ATP 500 and 1000 level will back up those performances in the majors and the Italian is looking in imperious form.

Take nothing away from Alex De Minaur's run to the Final and the very positive start he has had to 2024, but this has been a bad match up for him.

On a faster court, it is going to be very difficult for De Minaur to impact a serve against which he has only managed to find a break in 10% of return games in their six match previous head to head. In the hard court head to head, that number drops further and it will mean the Australian faces a lot of pressure on his own serve.

Again, take nothing away from how Alex De Minaur has been playing this week.

However, the serve was challenged by Andrey Rublev and David Goffin, while Jannik Sinner has really found a way to neutralise those return points and wear down De Minaur.

Jannik Sinner has broken in 23% of return games played in Rotterdam this week, but his numbers against Alex De Minaur have been at 38% in previous hard court matches. That can show up here as Sinner takes home another title in 2024 and continues to show that he is certainly up alongside Carlos Alcaraz as a potential multiple time Grand Slam Champion to take over from the Big Three era.

MY PICKS: Caroline Garcia - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 2.20 Coral (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 9-9, - 2.40 Units (36 Units Staked, - 6.67% Yield)

ATP World Tour Finals Day 8 Tennis Picks 2023- Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic (November 19th)

It has been a fun week in Turin as the Singles Tour comes to a close in 2023.

We still have the Davis Cup to be handed out, but for most, this will be the end of the season and preparation will begin for the 2024 season and the first Grand Slam at the Australian Open.

On Sunday, we have a rematch of a Group Stage match to determine the next World Tour Finals Champion and it should be played in a very good atmosphere as Novak Djokovic looks to win another big title.

Jannik Sinner will see this as a chance to lay down a marker for what can be achieved in 2024 and it has the makings of a very good end to the 2023 season.

Novak Djokovic - 2.5 games v Jannik Sinner: They met in the Group Stage of the ATP World Tour Finals and both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner have come through their Semi Final matches on Saturday to compete for the last Singles title of 2023.

Jannik Sinner won their Group match in three tough sets, and he managed to win all four matches played in Turin in front of his home fans. However, one of those wins, the one over Holger Rune, is the only reason that Novak Djokovic is still involved in the tournament and the World Number 1 looks to be peaking with his best performance this week being in the Semi Final win over rival Carlos Alcaraz.

Nothing will come easy for Novak Djokovic in this one and he will know that this is a tough match having lost Group contest. It was a match that lasted over three hours and Sinner finally was able to get the better of Novak Djokovic in their fourth meeting on the Tour.

That will have given him confidence, but Jannik Sinner also needed three sets to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Semi Final and he has played a lot of tennis this week. There were some signs of fatiguing in the Semi Final win, while Jannik Sinner won the big points in the Group win over Novak Djokovic and it will not take a lot for the World Number 1 to turn things around and defend his title won here last year.

Jannik Sinner has really been making good use of the conditions in Turin and his serve has been a big weapon for him, as it was in the win over Djokovic.

However, it should be noted that the Italian won 69% of the points played on serve compared with Novak Djokovic's 73% mark in that match.

Over the course of the tournament, Novak Djokovic has had a narrow edge with the returning performance and that may show up in this Final.

The margins are expected to be tight, as they have been in most matches played this week in fast conditions, but you have to believe that Novak Djokovic will be extra motivated after losing in the Group. He will have a much better feel for the kind of atmosphere he will face and Djokovic has proven to be someone that can gain a lot of motivation over perceived slights.

In all likelihood, Novak Djokovic would have learned plenty from the loss earlier this week and he is expected to find the solutions needed to turn things around.

The pricing is basically the same as it was when these two players met in the Group Stage, but this time it looks worth backing the World Number 1 to do enough to edge past Jannik Sinner and cover this handicap mark.

MY PICK: Novak Djokovic - 2.5 Games @ 2.05 Coral (2 Units)

World Tour Finals Update: 9-3, + 8.52 Units (24 Units Staked, + 35.50% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2023 (July 23rd)

The poor start to the week was always going to be very difficult to overcome, but it perhaps should have been a stronger end to the latest set of tournaments than we have had.

Some of the losses have been in matches where the selections have dominated the Break Point count, but found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and those have been the Picks that have made it very tough to get back on track following the poor Tuesday opening to the week.

On Sunday we are going to have the Finals played at the tournaments that have been running this week and there are some decent matches set to take place.

A big clay court event is coming up in Hamburg next week, but there are also stops in Umag and Atlanta to come as the run towards the US Open begins in the United States.

Late finishes in the WTA events in Budapest and Palermo means those markets have not been created at the time of writing and any selections will be added to this thread on Sunday, at least a couple of hours before those Finals are scheduled to be played.

Pedro Cachin - 1.5 games v Albert Ramos: All of the veteran players on the Tour that have won titles like Albert Ramos have to be respected and even at this stage of their careers they can put in a surge in one week to take home another trophy.

Albert Ramos has won a title on the clay courts in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and the victory four years ago was right here in Gstaad... That will give him confident at the end of a strong week where Ramos has shown his battling qualities by winning a deciding set three times in four victories.

It does mean he has played a lot of tennis compared with Pedro Cachin who has won all of his matches in straight sets and spent considerably less time on the court compared with the Spaniard.

Add in the fact that Pedro Cachin looks to be an improving player on the Tour who has produced solid, if unspectacular clay court numbers all season. His serve has been an important weapon in the Gstaad conditions, while Albert Ramos has had to return well to make up for the fact that his own serve has been a touch vulnerable.

A first ATP Final is going to mean nerves for Pedro Cachin, but his tennis should be good enough to win this match against Albert Ramos. Outside of the Second Round win over Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Cachin has broken at least four times in all three other wins in Gstaad, while Cachin has only dropped serve four times all week.

The expectation is that Albert Ramos will test him with the way he has been returning this week, although the lefty is likely to feel the pressure from the returning that Pedro Cachin has also been able to produce.

Controlling nerves is never easy in a first Final at this level, but Pedro Cachin can earn the majority of the Break Points and that can help him win this and cover this mark.

Casper Ruud - 1.5 games v Andrey Rublev: The top two Seeds in Bastad have made it through to the Final on Sunday and this has become familiar for fans of Casper Ruud.

After Wimbledon, Ruud has taken advantage of his clay court quality to win a number of European events on the red dirt in the last couple of years and he is a narrow favourite in the Bastad Final. That may be down to his clay court expertise, but also the fact he had a much more straight-forward win in the Semi Final compared with Andrey Rublev who needed three sets to beat Francisco Cerundolo in a tough encounter.

It took considerably longer than Ruud's Semi Final win, and Andrey Rublev had to win the second Semi Final which means less time to prepare for the Final.

He did win the first four matches against Casper Ruud on the Tour, but three of those were when Andrey Rublev was Ranked considerably higher than the Norwegian. However, all three clay court matches between the pair were won in those four matches and Andrey Rublev will certainly have some confidence behind him knowing that is the case.

On the other hand, Casper Ruud will be feeling pretty good that he has won their last two Tour matches on the hard courts of the Tour Finals. He has also reached the French Open Final twice since losing his last clay court match to Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud has been serving very well in Bastad this week, which could be key to the outcome of this Final.

As well as Rublev has been serving, he has not been as effective on the return in this tournament compared with Casper Ruud and the anticipation is for a competitive Final to have the narrow inches landing in favour of the top Seed.

Casper Ruud has only gone 2-2 against top 20 Ranked opponents this season on the clay courts, while Andrey Rublev has a solid 5-1 record in that same situation.

Three sets in this Final would not be a surprise and the sets should be competitive, but Casper Ruud can find a bit more energy to win the big points at key times to just earn yet another summer title on the red dirt.

Kateryna Baindl - 1.5 games v Maria Timofeeva: Just a few words on the Budapest Final with the markets now completed and a selection made.

It has been a remarkable week for the 19 year old who has entered the draw as the World Number 246 and a Lucky Loser, but Maria Timofeeva has been winning behind tight margins. She spent well over three hours on court in her Semi Final and has played a lot of tennis already this week, while Timofeeva has faced seven more Break Points than she has created in her last two matches.

Playing the big points well is clearly a good sign, but Maria Timofeeva has not shown a strong tendency to do that before Budapest and it feels like an outlier rather than a general rule when it comes to her tennis.

It is expected that the younger player will have chances in this match as Kateryna Baindl hsa not been serving at a really high level in this tournament. The Ukrainian had to win two matches on Saturday after her Quarter Final had been rained out the day before, but Baindl has been returning well this week and that should see her earn the majority of Break Points.

Of course that doesn't mean she will take them, but the play is backing Baindl to come through in three sets and do enough to cover this mark.

MY PICKS: Pedro Cachin - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Casper Ruud - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Kateryna Baindl - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 13-15, - 6.02 Units (56 Units Staked, - 10.75% Yield)

Wimbledon Tennis Day 13 Pick 2023- Ladies Final (July 15th)

It is the Final that everyone would have hoped we would see at Wimbledon and on Friday both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were able to win in straight sets to earn their place on Centre Court on Sunday.

The World Number 1 will also be on the line when Alcaraz and Djokovic face off, but the biggest prize is going to be the Wimbledon title as the young Spaniard tries to knock off a dominant SW19 Champion.

Before that we have the Ladies Final on Saturday and the horrible conditions in London could potentially make things very difficult.

However, I am assuming the rain in the area will mean the Final is played under the roof on Centre Court and that will only be good news for Marketa Vondrousova and Ons Jabeur. Neither player will want to be playing through the extremely gusty winds that have been forecasted through the day, which would just add to the pressures that they will be feeling as both look to win a maiden Grand Slam title.

Marketa Vondrousova-Ons Jabeur over 5.5 match breaks: Making three Grand Slam Finals in the last five events played will have placed Ons Jabeur amongst the best players on the WTA Tour. For herself, losing the first two of those Slam Finals will have stung and Jabeur may not really believe she belongs alongside the very best players on the Tour if she is not able to become a Grand Slam Champion.

She would have entered the Wimbledon Final as a narrow favourite twelve months ago, but was the underdog at the US Open a couple of months later when going down to Iga Swiatek. This time Ons Jabeur is going to be a significant favourite in the Final on Saturday as she prepares to take on Marketa Vondrousova.

Like her opponent, Marketa Vondrousova is a former Grand Slam Finalist and ended up being well beaten by Ashleigh Barty at the 2021 French Open. This is only the third time since that Final that Vondrousova has made it through to the second week at a Slam, but the Czech player has been in strong form in the tournament and will have to use that previous experience to help her in this first Wimbledon Final.

Marketa Vondrousova has struggled in Finals in her relatively young career having lost four of the five she has played, including losing the Olympic Games Gold Medal match. It has now been six years since an 18 year old Vondrousova won her only Singles title, but being the underdog could help her in this match up.

The lefty can also look back at this calendar year and note that she holds two wins over Ons Jabeur- one of those was at Indian Wells, but perhaps more importantly is the fact that Marketa Vondrousova was able to beat Jabeur at the Australian Open so has shown she can win under Grand Slam pressure.

Both of those wins were in strong performances from Marketa Vondrousova, but the grass is definitely the domain of Ons Jabeur, who has beaten this opponent on this surface in 2021.

After wins over Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur has to make sure she does not feel like she has one hand on the title and focus on the match. It is going to be much different compared with her last three matches against some of the big hitting players on the WTA Tour and a crafty, clever player like Bianca Andreescu almost beat Jabeur earlier in the tournament.

She is facing another one of those in Vondrousova who can use slices and is willing to get to the net, while also possessing some decent pop off the ground. The tactics will have to be different from Ons Jabeur and it is unlikely that she will benefit from as many unforced errors from Marketa Vondrousova as the likes of Petra Kvitova and Sabalenka were donating.

The mental side of the match is harder to call and you have to believe there will be nerves on both sides of the net, while I think both Vondrousova and Jabeur are happier returning than serving. With the nerves, this does feel like a match that will see plenty of breaks of serve and certainly more than anticipated by the layers.

In the two matches played between these players this year, there have been a total of twenty-one breaks of serve in the forty-eight service games played. Both of those have been on the hard courts and the feeling is that the grass should play a bit faster to aid the servers, but there have been at least nine breaks of serve in each of the last three matches played by Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon.

The Semi Final involving Ons Jabeur only had four breaks of serve, but the previous two matches saw seven breaks of serve each time and the returning numbers of Marketa Vondrousova have been every effective.

The underdog should be able to make this a competitive Final, even through the nerves, and the last two Wimbledon Finals have seen at least three sets needed. Despite the extra experience, Ons Jabeur is under plenty of pressure too considering the expectation that will be on her shoulders and the Tunisian making no secret of wanting to win major titles.

Another long match for Ons Jabeur may not be a big surprise either and there may be a few swings in momentum within the Final as long as Marketa Vondrousova can stay on top of the obvious nerves she will be dealing with on the day.

MY PICK: Marketa Vondrousova-Ons Jabeur Over 5.5 Match Breaks @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)

Wimbledon Update: 57-55, - 9.94 Units (224 Units Staked, - 4.44% Yield)

Indian Wells Tennis Picks 2023 (March 19th)

Most of the ATP and WTA Tour participants would have made the journey across the United States from Indian Wells to Miami as the next Masters event on the calendar begins on Tuesday with the WTA First Round, but four players remain in California.

Both Indian Wells Finals are to be played on Sunday and both look like they could produce a lot of fun tennis for those attending.

I was a touch disappointed with the 1-1 return for the Tennis Picks on Saturday, although it was perhaps a fair reflection of the performances of those selections.

Daniil Medvedev could have easily covered the big line against Frances Tiafoe having missed a number of Break Points to move into a position to do that, although Carlos Alcaraz did have to fight through a very tough match against Jannik Sinner, which could have gone the other way.

It has still been a very strong tournament for the Tennis Picks and finishing off the right way on Sunday is all that I am thinking about now.

Aryna Sabalenka - 2.5 games v Elena Rybakina: A rematch of the Australian Open Final will take place on the hard courts of Indian Wells when the WTA Final is played and you could make a case for Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina to be two of the best three players in the world.

Not many are in stronger form than the reigning Australian Open Champion and Elena Rybakina would be a top four Ranked player if she had received the Ranking points from winning Wimbledon last year. I think both will feel they can have a massive impact at Wimbledon in July, assuming Sabalenka will be allowed to compete this year, and these head to head matches throughout the year on the Tour can provide a mental edge if they are to come up against one another in those big Slam matches.

At the moment Aryna Sabalena has the edge over Elena Rybakina and I think she will frank that with a win in this Final.

Both are big hitters who want to get on the front foot, while the serve is a potent weapon for the two players.

I am not surprised that so many of their previous matches have needed a deciding set when you consider how important a single break of serve can be in matches between them.

Aryna Sabalenka has had the better of the returning numbers this week and that was the case in Melbourne back in January- I think that is likely to be the outcome of this one as Sabalenka closes in on the World Number 1 Ranking a little further.

Carlos Alcaraz v Daniil Medvedev: After eighteen months where Daniil Medvedev has not kicked on as far as it looked was possible, he is looking for a Masters title at Indian Wells which will have him back amongst the very top players on the ATP Tour.

Winning the title will not improve his World Ranking, but it will give Medvedev confidence to take into the next Masters event in Miami and maybe even for the clay court season if he can win on what he considers to be a slow surface.

The World Number 1 Ranking is on the line for Carlos Alcaraz and a win would take him back past Novak Djokovic- the Spaniard missed the Australian Open which was won by Djokovic, but the absence of the latter for these two American Masters events have opened the door for Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the clay court season when he may be considered the favourite alongside Novak Djokovic to win the next Grand Slam event at the French Open.

His return to the hard courts could not have gone much better and I do think the conditions will suit Carlos Alcaraz more than Daniil Medvedev. The numbers from the tournament have backed that up with Alcaraz getting a bit more out of his return as he looks to square up the professional match head to head with Daniil Medvedev at 1-1.

The highest Ranked player beaten by Medvedev at the Indian Wells tournament has been Alexander Zverev, the current World Number 14, but Carlos Alcaraz has seen off Felix Auger-Aliassime (World Number 10) and Jannik Sinner (World Number 13) and still produced the stronger numbers at the tournament.

Both are extremely confident hard court players, which has to be respected, but I think the conditions are more favourable to Carlos Alcaraz and he can find a way to come through as the favourite in the ATP Final.

MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Carlos Alcaraz @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Indian Wells Update: 23-14, + 11.01 Units (75 Units Staked, + 14.68% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 25th)

The four tournaments being played in three different venues will come to a conclusion on Saturday as the attention has firmly turned to the end of the grass court season.

Everything culminates with the third Grand Slam tournament of the 2022 season as Wimbledon is set to begin on Monday and it looks like we will have two largely dry weeks in South West London.

I will have fuller thoughts on the two draws and potential winners in the Day 1 Picks for the tournament that will get underway soon, but this thread is focused on the conclusion of the warm up events with four Finals scheduled to be played on Saturday.

After a mixed Friday, I am only focusing on the two WTA Finals to be played in Eastbourne and Bad Homburg before my own attention also shifts to Wimbledon. It has been a solid week for the Tennis Picks and one I am looking to round off with a flourish.

Petra Kvitova v Jelena Ostapenko: The two time Wimbledon Champion has come into form at a good time, although I am never convinced that winning a tournament in the week prior to a Grand Slam is the best timing. In saying that, Petra Kvitova needed to pick up some confidence and I am a little surprised to see her set as the underdog in the Final in Eastbourne.

I have to credit the defending Champion Jelena Ostapenko for producing a strong week and she has long been an effective grass court player. The former French Open Champion has a big, aggressive game that is well suited to the surface and Jelena Ostapenko has enjoyed considerable success on the grass courts.

Her numbers have backed that up in recent seasons on the grass, but there is no doubting how much Petra Kvitova enjoys playing on the green stuff herself.

The consistency has been lacking over the last twelve months, but Petra Kvitova has found her serve this week and she has some strong wins behind her. The Semi Final victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia is particularly impressive considering how well the Brazilian has been playing on the grass and Petra Kvitova will feel her serve can at least contain some of the aggressive returning that will be produced by Jelena Ostapenko.

She is also getting plenty of first serves in play to make things a bit easier, while Jelena Ostapenko's first serve percentage will need to be significantly improved to avoid having an aggressive Kvitova get after the second serve. If the firsts are landing, Ostapenko can play first-strike tennis in a Final that should see both players looking to get on the front foot and pile the pressure on their opponent.

I do think that is where the high percentage of first serves landing will give Petra Kvitova an edge, although Jelena Ostapenko has been the stronger returner of the two.

Jelena Ostapenko looks to be peaking in time for the Final, but Petra Kvitova has only faced two break points since her Third Round win over Katie Boulter. I think that is key to the outcome of this one and I think Petra Kvitova will overturn a tight loss to Jelena Ostapenko from their sole meeting in 2022 which came on the hard courts in Dubai.

The Czech lefty was unfortunate that day, but I think she is playing well enough to earn the edges in this Final and can win as the underdog.

Bianca Andreescu - 3.5 games v Caroline Garcia: The benefit of having a walkover in the Semi Final will have helped Bianca Andreescu in winning this Final, but I also think she has been playing the stronger grass court tennis of the two competing.

I am a little biased towards Bianca Andreescu as a big fan of her tennis, but her numbers have backed up a decent run on the grass courts and I think she could have a strong impact at Wimbledon next week. That will be the focus for the Canadian, but she will also be aware that Angelique Kerber used a title win here to reach the last four at Wimbledon last year and so winning the Bad Homburg tournament could be a huge boost for Bianca Andreescu.

She is up against Caroline Garcia who needed almost three hours on court to win her Semi Final on Friday, while it cannot be ignored that the fortune has been on the side of the Frenchwoman in her run to this Final.

I have to credit Garcia for playing the big points as well as she has, but the margins are tight and she will need to overcome some fatigue, emotional and physical, to be able to win the big points in this one too. Running out of energy will be a tough obstacle to overcome for Caroline Garcia against someone like Bianca Andreescu, while the serve will have to be working as it has been in the last couple of Rounds.

Caroline Garcia has saved twenty-four out of twenty-eight break points faced in her last three matches, but it is hard to imagine her continuing to get out of those jams consistently. In the Final she will be facing a player who has found at least three breaks of serve in every match played on the grass in 2022 and Bianca Andreescu has put a lot of pressure on her opponents by winning 46% of return points played on the surface over the last month.

Her own serve can be a little inconsistent, but Caroline Garcia is not exactly the most dominant of return players and I do think Bianca Andreescu can contain her threat. In her three wins here this week, the former US Open Champion has only been broken three times and has faced just ten break points, which is fewer than Caroline Garcia had to face in just her Quarter Final match alone.

With the additional time to rest, Bianca Andreescu looks like she has all the tools to win her first title since that aforementioned US Open in 2019 as the Canadian begins her climb back to the kind of level she belongs amongst the very elite of the WTA Tour.

MY PICKS: Petra Kvitova @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)

Bianca Andreescu - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 33-26, + 6.06 Units (116 Units Staked, + 5.22% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 19th)

A wet day in Birmingham means both Semi Finals and Final at that tournament will be played on the same day, but the other events have all managed to get through their Saturday schedules.

We have all of the Finals scheduled for Sunday on the same day the last events before Wimbledon are set to begin. I won't have any Picks from the First Round matches that will get those events underway on Sunday as first I concentrate on ending this week with something of a flourish.

Daniil Medvedev-Hubert Hurkacz over 23.5 games: Despite the ban that is going to prevent Daniil Medvedev from playing at Wimbledon, the current World Number 1 has continued to shine on the grass courts. He will be playing in his second Final on the surface in two weeks and will also be competing in Mallorca to make sure the Ranking points are put in the bank before the move onto the hard courts in the build towards the US Open.

I would not be surprised if Daniil Medvedev decides to play a tournament or two in July to make sure he doesn't lose any match sharpness before looking to defend the Grand Slam title he won last season. For now his main focus is making sure he continues to perform at a high level on the grass courts, although Daniil Medvedev will also be looking to be much more competitive than he was in the upset loss last week in Hertogenbosch.

This has not always been the best match up for Daniil Medvedev having split four matches with Hubert Hurtkacz over the last twelve months. The first one of those was played between these two in an epic match at Wimbledon that lasted five sets and there really has not been much between two solid servers.

It has been a strong week for Hubert Hurkacz who has upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Quarter Final and then come from behind to beat Nick Kyrgios in the Semi Final. The character and mental strength shown by Hubert Hurkacz to win the match against the Australian without breaking serve once is going to be a huge factor in how far he can go at Wimbledon again, and I do think he has the serving power to keep this one competitive even in a two set loss.

Both of these players have produced very strong serving numbers in their run to the Halle Final and that is backed up by the fact that Daniil Medvedev has held 97% of his service games and Hubert Hurkacz has held 94% of his . You can't ignore the fact that Medvedev has faced a lot more break points than Hubert Hurkacz, but he has played the big points well and has held 88% of his service games played in the four matches against this opponent.

Daniil Medvedev has a huge advantage when it comes to the returning numbers in Halle this week, but Hubert Hurkacz is confident with his serve and has held 90% of his service games against the World Number 1. I do think there will be at least one tie-breaker needed in this one and the matches have been competitive enough to see three of the four needing a deciding set to determine the winner.

That is a real possibility in this Final and I do think both can be confident in the serving they have been producing for this match to go pretty long and cover this total set.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev-Hubert Hurkacz Over 23.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Matteo Berrettini - 3.5 Games @ 1.70 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 26-25, - 4.04 Units (106 Units Staked, - 3.81% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 12th)

A solid return on Saturday has given me a chance to end the first grass court tournaments with a winning record, but there are four Finals to get through before these events can be placed in the books.

Much bigger events are coming up next week with the tournaments in London, Halle, Berlin and Birmingham offering up big Ranking points and deeper fields than we have seen this week. It is also the week when the majority of the top names will play their last events before Wimbledon begins later this month.

Matteo Berrettini v Andy Murray: If you were solely concentrating on the names in the draw, seeing Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini in the Final of this grass court tournament in Stuttgart would be no surprise.

However, there are circumstances around both players that has perhaps led to this being a surprising Final.

Matteo Berrettini missed the entirety of the clay court season and there may have been some match rustiness to shake off when playing here in Stuttgart. He did reach the Final of Wimbledon after winning the big title in Queens last year, but even then you may have felt that the Italian would need a little bit of time to round back into the kind of form that has seen him become one of the top names on the Tour.

On the other side, Andy Murray chose to miss much of the clay court season in order to prepare for Wimbledon and he is very comfortable on the grass courts. He was a beaten Semi Finalist in a Challenger event in Surbiton last week and we have yet to see Murray really put the wins together as he has in Stuttgart, but he has upset a couple of opponents on his way to this Final.

It will give Andy Murray confidence and the serve has been improved since his wobble in the win over Alexander Bublik and it is so important for Murray to try and pick up cheaper points. He is facing someone who has not always been the most effective return player, but Matteo Berrettini has the kind of serve that can see him roll through service games and build scoreboard pressure to break down an opponent.

We all know how good a return player Andy Murray can be and his numbers have been stronger than Matteo Berrettini's this week, although he did only win 24% of return points against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Italian is a stronger server than Tsitsipas and he will feel he can put Andy Murray under more pressure and make enough returns on the second serve to win this match.

Last year Matteo Berrettini crushed Andy Murray at Queen's Club in London on this surface, and it was a day in which the former returned very well to back up his big serve.

This should be a close and competitive Final, but I have to give a very slight edge to Matteo Berrettini who looks very happy on the surface and he can win a match that could go the distance before both players head to London.

MY PICKS: Matteo Berrettini @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Ekaterina Alexandrova @ 2.20 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 19-15, + 3.62 Units (68 Units Staked, + 5.25% Yield)

Olympic Tennis Day 8 Picks 2021 (July 31st)

The Tokyo Olympics are down to the Medal matches for those taking part in the Tennis event and the majority of the players involved have likely began their move across to North America where the build up to the US Open has begun.

Most won't likely take part in events listed to begin over the next few days, but Rafael Nadal is back as he travels to Washington for the first time.

Those are the 'weakest' events left before the run to the US Open with back to back Masters events in Canada and Cincinnati played back to back in the middle of August. We should begin to get some insight into how the US Open may shake out, but for now the focus is on the Olympics and handing out the Medals across the next two days.

Elena Rybakina - 1.5 games v Elina Svitolina: The Bronze Medal match in the Women's Tennis Olympic tournament will be played before the Gold Medal match and it is a strange situation for the players competing. Every other tournament they would have played would have been over as soon as the Semi Final match points went against them, but Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina have to return to the court two days after those defeats to play this Bronze Medal match.

The mindset can be quite difficult to determine when you think of the normality of the situation for the players off a defeat. Elena Rybakina has to be feeling the Semi Final loss a little more than Elina Svitolina because the Kazakhstan player may believe that one or two points cost her the match in a very close encounter. The Elina Svitolina defeat was much more straight-forward and I do wonder if the early exploits in the tournament have caught up with a player who may not have spent as much time on the court as she would have liked in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

Elina Svitolina has only recently married Gael Monfils and that may have taken her focus from the tennis so the run in Tokyo is something of a surprise. Even more so when you think of the inconsistent performances Svitolina has produced over the last twelve months and she has not really played at a very high level in the tournament, but has managed to get through to the Bronze Medal match by playing the big points better than her opponents have been able to do.

I do think she is going to have to improve dramatically from the Semi Final level if she is going to beat Elena Rybakina who had breezed through her first four matches before losing a break advantage in the final set of her Semi Final defeat to Belinda Bencic. The Rybakina serve has been a big weapon for her throughout this tournament and she has found a consistency on the return of serve which may just give the younger player an edge as she looks to Medal.

Elina Svitolina's serve is much more erratic and I do think it is a vulnerable part of her game which has prevented her kicking on and winning a Grand Slam. While she has won four matches here, the Ukrainian has not really been dominant on the return of serve either and I do think Elena Rybakina will get the better of her as long as the almost three hour Semi Final has not taken too much from her mentally and emotionally.

Before that match, Elena Rybakina has not really spent a lot of time on the court compared with Elina Svitolina who had multiple matches being played that lasted more than two hours on the court. She looked a little drained in the Semi Final defeat to Marketa Vondrousova and Elena Rybakina beat Elina Svitolina last month on a grass court when her serve was the key difference.

The hard court numbers produced by both players have been very similar over the last twelve months, but Elena Rybakina has been performing at a much better level in this tournament and I think she can conclude it with a Bronze Medal.

Marketa Vondrousova - 1.5 games v Belinda Bencic: Over the last three years it has become clear that there isn't a dominant player on the WTA Tour and that has meant the big tournaments have been much more open for all who take part. It has led to a number of first time Grand Slam Champions and the Olympic Games five years ago saw Monica Puig win a Gold Medal.

Naomi Osaka was the favourite to win the Gold Medal this time around along with World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty, but both exited the tournament relatively early. Even then, you would be hard pressed to find too many people who would have tipped up Marketa Vondrousova versus Belinda Bencic in the Gold Medal match and this is easily going to be the biggest tournament won by either of these players.

It does mean there will be a new kind of pressure to deal with, but Marketa Vondrousova may be slightly better placed to deal with that. The Czech youngster reached the French Open Final in 2019 and so will know what it takes to perform in an environment like this one which may be a slight edge over Belinda Bencic who has not been beyond the Fourth Round at three of the four Grand Slams played and her best effort being one Semi Final run at the US Open a little under two years ago.

There is little doubt that Marketa Vondrousova has played the stronger tennis to this point of the tournament too after a difficult opening match. She has taken full advantage of using a Protected Ranking to enter the draw when her current World Ranking would not have been good enough to represent a loaded Czech Republic team, and Marketa Vondrousova's numbers have seen her consistently out-perform Belinda Bencic.

The Swiss player came through an incredibly tough Semi Final against Elena Rybakina, but Belinda Bencic was a little fortunate on the day having produced fewer break points than her opponent. It was a really long match too and you do have to wonder if that has sapped some of the energy she is going to need to challenge Marketa Vondrousova who has won their sole previous match, also on a hard court.

It was a victory in a tough three setter, but Marketa Vondrousova earned three times as many break points as Belinda Bencic and she has won more than 50% of return points in each of her last four matches. That is incredibly dangerous for Belinda Bencic who gave up 16 break points in her Semi Final win over Elena Rybakina and who has been struggling to earn easy service games in her last three matches.

Belinda Bencic is capable in her return game, but it has been a relative weakness in her performances on the hard courts in recent seasons. I think that will be the case in this Gold Medal match and I think Marketa Vondrousova will have enough to come through with the victory and the cover of this handicap mark.

Pablo Carreno Busta + 5.5 games v Novak Djokovic: In normal circumstances, Novak Djokovic will be a player who doesn't spend a lot of time playing Doubles Tennis alongside his Singles commitments and certainly not at a major event. However, a proud Serb wanted to represent his nation to the fullest of his abilities at the Olympic Games and that has meant Novak Djokovic took part in the Mixed Doubles as well as the Singles tournament in Tokyo.

Some of that may have caught up with him as he was beaten in three sets in the Semi Final of the Singles tournament and later followed up with a straight sets defeat in the Mixed Doubles.

The dream of a Golden Slam have thus ended in the defeat to Alexander Zverev and now Novak Djokovic will instead be contesting the Bronze Medal match for the third time. He won that Medal in 2008 and was then beaten to finish without a Medal in London in 2012, while Novak Djokovic will also be dealing with the disappointment of losing his opportunity to win a Gold Medal.

It may not be his last chance to do that, but in three years time you would expect Novak Djokovic to not be as strong as he is right now. With the best opportunity now behind him, I do wonder what kind of motivation Novak Djokovic can have in this Bronze Medal match after looking completely exhausted by the end of his match with Alexander Zverev.

That has to be encouraging for Pablo Carreno Busta after the Spaniard was convincingly beaten in the first Semi Final against Karen Khachanov despite going into the match as the favourite. Winning a Medal would be a major achievement for Carreno Busta so I expect him to come out with a little more energy than Novak Djokovic, while Pablo Carreno Busta has to think about trying to extend the rallies and see whether a tired World Number 1 can really find the extra energy needed to win a Medal that he would not have been targeting before the tournament began.

Novak Djokovic is clearly the better hard court player and he has had the better tournament all around compared with Pablo Carreno Busta. The latter may need something like a repeat of their famous match at the US Open last year when Novak Djokovic was Defaulted after knocking a ball to the back of the court which hit a Line Judge.

However, I do think Novak Djokovic may be more focused on the other Bronze Medal match he is competing in on Saturday. Winning in the Mixed Doubles as a part of a team will be more appealing to a player that has a Singles Bronze Medal at home already and that should give Pablo Carreno Busta a chance for the upset.

Overall it certainly makes it feel like the underdog can keep this close with the amount of games being given to him. Novak Djokovic may still dig in and show his class in the victory, but I can see him coasting at times to preserve some energy and it may give Pablo Carreno Busta an opportunity to at least keep things close on the scoreboard.

MY PICKS: Elena Rybakina - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Marketa Vondrousova - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Pablo Carreno Busta - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Olympic Games: 23-17, + 2.96 Units (82 Units Staked, + 3.61% Yield)