Tennis Picks 2019 (February 2nd)

I've had a number of matches narrowed down on my shortlist as far as the Tennis Picks have gone this past week, but a few question marks kept popping up around them which meant I have to made any selections since the end of the Australian Open.

On Saturday we have got down to the Semi Final stage at both events being played on the WTA Tour this week and I do feel there are three selections that can be made from the four matches scheduled to be played.

The new format of the Davis Cup means there were a lot of Singles matches scheduled for both Friday and Saturday, but nothing really stood out and I will stick to the Ranking events that are taking place.

I wrote a small piece which covered the end of the Australian Open. I've also updated the 2019 season records and you can read that here.


Alja Tomljanovic - 3.5 games v Tamara Zidansek: This is the third time Alja Tomljanovic and Tamara Zidansek have met over the last nine months and they have split two matches with one win apiece. The single hard court meeting took place in Seoul at the back end of the 2018 season and the Australian was able to recover from a set down to beat Zidansek in three sets.

Both players have been playing some decent tennis to get through to the Semi Final in Thailand this week although Zidansek has been having a few more difficulties coming through the draw.

Alja Tomljanovic and Zidansek have both been able to get a lot out of the return of serve which has given them a chance to win their matches. It is going to be the key to this match too as the player who can get close to the 50% return points won so far this week are most likely going to progress to the Final.

The feeling is that the Australian has the stronger serving numbers and Tomljanovic's first serve is going to give her a chance to at least get away with some cheap points compared with Zidansek.

As long as she can continue producing the big serves at key times Tomljanovic is likely going to be in a position where she has the majority of break points in this match and I will look for the higher Ranked player to work her way through this Semi Final with a win and a cover of the number.


Kiki Bertens v Aryna Sabalenka: This looks to be a fantastic Semi Final between two players who have been much improved on the hard courts over the last several months.

The two players have made their way through to the Semi Final with some decent numbers, but it is Kiki Bertens who looks to be playing the superior tennis.

She may be the only player who has dropped a set on the way through to the Semi Final, but Bertens has been perhaps a little unfortunate to do that. On the other hand Aryna Sabalenka should have dropped at least one set but she has managed to get her tennis together at just the right times to prevent opponents from picking up momentum against her.

The strength of her tennis can't be underestimated, but Bertens is also serving very well in St Petersburg and her game looks pretty suited to the indoor hard courts.

Kiki Bertens is getting more out of her serve in this tournament and she is also showing the superior returning of the two. The Dutchwoman has beaten Sabalenka in both previous meetings between them and I think Bertens can be backed as a very narrow underdog to do the same in this one.


Donna Vekic - 3.5 games v Vera Zvonareva: It is very good to see Vera Zvonareva back on the court and playing some strong tennis as she made her way through to the Semi Final in front of her home fans. Injuries have really blighted the latter stages of her career, but the Russian clearly still loves playing tennis and all three wins earned to reach the Semi Final have been impressive.

The veteran is back inside the top 100 of the World Rankings and has dropped a single set to Julia Goerges on her way through the draw, but she is going to be challenged by Donna Vekic in this one.

The 22 year old Vekic has begun to show a little more consistency in her matches and this is a very good chance to reach the Final. A win over Australian Open Finalist Petra Kvitova in the Quarter Final was a very good result for Vekic and she has won six sets in a row since dropping the first one in St Petersburg.

Donna Vekic has been serving very well to get into a position to progress to the Semi Final and it has to be noted that Zvonareva's return has not been as strong as she would have liked. It has been enough to get through this draw so far, but the Vekic serve might be another challenge to what she has faced so far and I can see that putting pressure on the Russian to make sure she is producing her best off her own serve.

The indoor hard courts makes it much easier for servers though and Zvonareva has got a decent pop out of her own on this surface too. However Vekic has been getting enough out of her return to give Zvonareva something to think about and the Croatian has been creating enough break point chances against players this week to think she can do the same here.

Home fans will keep Zvonareva competitive, but Vekic may just have a little too much in each set they play and that could be enough to win and cover.

MY PICKS: Alja Tomljanovic - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Kiki Bertens @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Donna Vekic - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2019 (January 28th)

The first Grand Slam of the 2019 Tennis season entered the books on Sunday with Novak Djokovic joining Naomi Osaka as the Singles Champions at the Australian Open.

January winds down over the next few days but the Tour doesn't stop with Davis Cup Qualifiers set to be played next weekend and the WTA Tour moving on to stops in Thailand and Russia. There are some huge names out in both of those events which take place ahead of a break during which the focus will be on the run up to the opening Fed Cup matches.

With Davis Cup ties to come it does mean the ATP Tour has a week break but February is anything other than a quiet month with both the ATP and WTA taking in events in the Middle East as well as the South American Golden Swing.

Below are a few thoughts about the Australian Open and then I will get onto any Tennis Picks I have from the Monday schedule in both tournaments being played on the WTA Tour this week.


Novak Djokovic is the Man to Beat: The World Number 1 looked a little vulnerable in his tough win over Daniil Medvedev in the Fourth Round but by the end of the Australian Open Novak Djokovic was motoring along very nicely.

He has won his third Grand Slam in a row and it is hard to remember at what a low place he was after losing to Marco Cecchinato in the French Open last June. It was so bad for Djokovic back then after a couple of poor losses on the hard courts earlier in the season that he even suggested he would miss the grass court season and return to the Tour when he was feeling in a much stronger place.

Ultimately Djokovic gathered himself, won the title at Wimbledon and has looked by far and away the best player on the Tour since then while improving to fifteen career Grand Slam titles with his win on Sunday. Roger Federer's twenty titles are now within reach with Novak Djokovic likely going into every tournament as the favourite to win it and if he stays healthy I do think there is every chance he is going to be the standard setter for men's tennis when he does decide to hang up his racquet.

The French Open may be the biggest challenge, but the manner of his win over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open coupled with a victory already secured over Nadal at Roland Garros means the World Number 1 is the man to beat in the season ahead.


Take nothing away from Rafael Nadal who had a great tournament and should be much more match ready by the time the French Open comes around, but Novak Djokovic is returning to his level of three years ago when he was dismantling all in front of him.


When Will the ATP Youngsters be Ready to Win a Grand Slam: Stefanos Tsitsipas took the headlines with a strong run at the Australian Open that ended in the Semi Final, but the defeat to Rafael Nadal underlined how much work is in front of him.

The Greek star may have taken the step on the likes of Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev, but all of those players look like they could have an impact in the year ahead, although I am not sure any of them are truly ready to win a Grand Slam.

Both Khachanov and Medvedev should be able to take the next step once they find a touch more consistency in their game, while Alexander Zverev is in danger of entering Grand Slam draws with a millstone around his neck. It was another disappointing Grand Slam effort from the 21 year old German who has played so well at Masters level and won the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November that suggested he was ready to take the next step at a major.

For me Zverev is still the closest to putting it all together to win a Grand Slam, but I do think he is at least a year away from doing that with the way Nadal and Djokovic are playing.


The Top of the Women's Game is in a Healthy Spot: Over the last twelve months I would have to say that the women's Grand Slam events have perhaps been more exciting than the men's and the top of the WTA Tour looks to be in a healthier spot in years.

Naomi Osaka has broken through as a multiple time Grand Slam Champion and taken over as World Number 1 after a stunning Australian Open, while Petra Kvitova played close to her best tennis. Those two could be in for a real rivalry at both Wimbledon and the US Open to determine the big prizes, but the likes of Simona Halep, Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova may not be too far behind.

Others can still have strong tournaments in the relatively short periods of a Grand Slam, but I think those five players will be the ones who show the most consistency in 2019 across the surfaces and I would be surprised if the Grand Slam titles are not shared between them.

In recent years too many times the women's game looked to have little consistency at the top which saw players reach World Number 1 without winning Slams, but so many have broken through the mental barrier that I think it can only be good for the sport.


Serena Williams is no Sure Thing to Win Grand Slam Number 24: When Serena Williams won the Australian Open in 2016 it would have been incredibly short odds for her to not only tie Margaret Court's record number of Grand Slam Singles titles won, but for the American to surpass that number.

Pregnancy meant over a year away from the Tour following that success and Serena Williams has reached two Finals and one Quarter Final in her four Grand Slam tournaments played on her return.

In her time away some of the top WTA players have grown and the Serena aura is no longer as strong as it once was with the likes of Simona Halep coming close to beating her here in Australia and Karolina Pliskova getting the job done. Naomi Osaka playing her first Grand Slam Final handled the occasion and all of the drama of the US Open Final fabulously to beat Williams and Angelique Kerber did the same in the Wimbledon Final.

Players are no longer fearing the presence of Serena who is also not helped by a lowly Ranking, by her standards, which means tougher draws to negotiate.

I'm not ruling Serena out from winning another Grand Slam or two, but I do think things have gotten much tougher for her with the improvement in the women's game. While she will likely be the bookmakers favourite to win any tournament she enters in 2019, I think the odds of her even tying Margaret Court's twenty-four Slams is much longer than it has been for a long time.


Andy Murray's Fight to Return to the Tour: If I am being critical I am not sure Andy Murray timed his decision to announce he may retire from tennis just days before the Australian Open began as well as he would have liked. He certainly will wish he could re-word his Press Conference after it was subsequently made clear that the British player was still exploring all avenues to return to the Tour.

An awkward goodbye and good luck video from his peers was played at the end of his titanic First Round defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut, but it is clear we have yet to see the last of him.

I only have respect for everything Murray has achieved in his career up to now and I do think 2019 might be written off by him as he decides to go back in for a second surgery on his hip which may give him a chance to return to the Tour. There are no guarantees in life, but I do think Andy Murray himself believes that match in Melbourne is not the last one he has played as a professional.

The announcement he was thinking about finishing up at Wimbledon in July has to be scrapped- going in for surgery will mean the rest of this season is likely over for Murray and he can then look to make a return in 2020.

The decision on the surgery has yet to be made, but the fighting spirit is still burning bright within Andy Murray and I hope he can end his career in the manner he wants and not enforced to do.

Tennis Picks 2019

The Australian Open added to a very good start for the Tennis Picks in 2019 with plenty of profits to add to the first month of the season.

Twelve months ago it was a difficult tournament, but the last six months of the Tennis Picks in 2018 ensured that season finished with a profit and 2019 has begun in a very promising way.

This week the WTA Tour moves to Hua Hin in Thailand and St Petersburg in Russia. At the end of the week the Davis Cup Finals Qualifying ties are played over Friday and Saturday with the new format of that competition set to go for the 2019 season and I should have some Picks for most of the days this week.

Next week the ATP Tour returns with three stops on the calendar as we get to see some indoor tennis and also the start of the Golden Swing in South America.

MY PICKS: 

Season 2019: + 26.16 Units (213 Units Staked, + 12.28% Yield)