Tennis Picks 2025 (Friday 20th June)

It has been a difficult couple of days for the Tennis Picks, but there is still every chance of ending this week on a positive.

All of the Quarter Final matches are scheduled to be played on Friday and this is the busiest day of the week for the Tennis Picks and one that may just determine whether it is a bounce back seven days for the selections or not.

Leylah Fernandez - 1.5 games v Dayana Yastremska: When this Quarter Final was set and the markets were released, Leylah Fernandez had been set as the underdog, but that is far from the case now.

It felt like the wrong way round considering the previous form these two players have displayed on the grass courts and Leylah Fernandez should have enough to reach the Semi Final in Nottingham.

She is a strange player- once in a while there is a big run, but Fernandez has struggled for consistency over the last twelve months and the 32-26 record highlights that. However, she is still the World Number 30 and the lefty has a decent game for the grass courts, although her best run at Wimbledon is reaching the Third Round last year.

During that summer on this surface, Leylah Fernandez also reached the Quarter Final in Birmingham and Final in Eastbourne, while her loss last week to Tatjana Maria at Queen's Club doesn't look nearly as bad considering the veteran went on to lift the title.

Both wins in Nottingham have been deserved, and Leylah Fernandez looks to be in good shape as she prepares to try and beat Dayana Yastremska for a third time on the pro Tour.

Any player that puts a couple of wins on the board at a tournament will be feeling confident, but Dayana Yastremska has bailed herself out of some tough spots. Continuing to face the Break Points and coming out on top is tough for any professional player and Yastremska is likely going to have to deal with a few more on serve in this Quarter Final.

In recent years Dayana Yastremska has been solid, if unspectacular, on the grass courts and this is a considerable step in terms of level of opponent compared with the Second Round win. Even in the previous two matches, the serve has been a little vulnerable and that should give the Canadian the edge in this Quarter Final and especially with the mental advantage of knowing she has beaten Yastremska twice previously.

Aryna Sabalenka-Elena Rybakina over 22.5 games: Would it surprise anyone if in three weeks time Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are the last two standing in the Ladies tournament at Wimbledon?

Both players have had plenty of success on the grass and they have all of the weapons needed for another deep run at SW19.

It is Elena Rybakina who has gotten over the line by winning the title at Wimbledon, but the motivation will be very high in the Aryna Sabalenka camp to see their player join her in the winner's enclosure. Both Grand Slam runs have ended in the Final in Melbourne and Paris and the World Number 1 will be desperate to have at least one major title under her belt before heading back to New York City in August.

The one grass court match played underlined Aryna Sabalenka's capabilities on the serve, but it is the return that will be tested.

We can the exact same for Elena Rybakina who has a huge serve for this surface, but who has not been returning as well as she would have liked in her matches on the grass in 2025. The returning numbers can be picked up a little bit, but the Rybakina serve has been important for her and helped the World Number 11 win three of the four matches played on grass this season.

Matches between these players are usually very competitive and this Quarter Final could very much trend in that direction.

All six of the wins produced by Aryna Sabalenka have been in three set matches, while the straight set wins have been earned by Elena Rybakina in three of her four wins in this rivalry. However, only two of the ten matches played between these players has ended with less than 23 games shared out and both have the capabilities of serving well enough to secure at least a set each or, at the very least, push this into two tight, competitive sets that perhaps need at least one tie-breaker.

Jack Draper - 3.5 games v Brandon Nakashima: He made harder work of his win over Alexei Popyrin than anticipated, but Jack Draper did win and there will be a lot of hope and belief that the British Number 1 can enjoy a big two weeks at Wimbledon.

The draw will be key, but Jack Draper is a confident player on the grass and his numbers have been impressive over the last twelve months.

My one concern with backing Draper is that I can't remember being on the right side of too many of his matches, including that Second Round contest a couple of days ago.

He is a capable server and so Jack Draper will believe he can contain the threat of Brandon Nakashima and try and build some scoreboard pressure on the 23 year old American. Much like Draper, Brandon Nakashima has shown he can produce some real quality on the grass courts, although he has perhaps not had the big wins to really boost the confidence on the surface.

The serve can be a potent weapon for Brandon Nakashima too, but Alexander Zverev was able to string enough points together to break him twice in Stuttgart last week. Twelve months ago it was Jack Draper finding the breaks of serve at the same tournament to comfortably progress past Nakashima and the British player has won the last two matches between them on the Tour.

One poor service game let Jack Draper down as far as the handicap was concerned in the Second Round, but he may have a bit more success in this Quarter Final on the return and that could see him cover.

Holger Rune - 3.5 games v Roberto Bautista Agut: The World Number 9 has only just turned 22 years old and that should mean we have yet to see the very best tennis from Holger Rune.

Last year he reached the Fourth Round at Wimbledon and Holger Rune has shown he has the tennis that is needed to be a successful grass court contender. That run was ended by Novak Djokovic, but Rune may be hoping for better in 2025 with a potentially clearer draw into the Quarter Final and from there his confidence will be in a good place.

Two solid wins have been put together at Queen's to reach the Quarter Final and Holger Rune deserves to be the favourite against veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.

A former top ten Ranked player in his own right, Roberto Bautista Agut has slipped outside the top 50 in the World Rankings and there has been a decline in his performances over the last twelve months. However, the Spaniard is coming into the grass court season still believing he can be competitive on this surface thanks to his experience and previous successes.

He was beaten early in Hertogenbosch, but Roberto Bautista Agut has come through two matches at Queen's in three sets and that does display some confidence.

Of course he is going to have to be better to beat someone like Holger Rune who has won all three of their previous matches on the Tour.

One of those wins came at the French Open last month and Holger Rune looks to be the superior return player of the two, which may be decisive on this surface. Both have been serving well, but the younger player will have more in the tank and that should see the Dane come through with a solid victory to take his place in the Semi Final in West London on Saturday.

Daniil Medvedev - 2.5 games v Alex Michelsen: The United States have always been able to produce very effective grass court tennis players, even if the majority are built up on the hard courts. Movement is the one aspect that is perhaps hardest to understand, but the grass allows the big-serving American players to put plenty of pressure on the opponent.

It feels like 20 year old Alex Michelsen is going to be a solid grass courter in the years ahead having reached the Final in Newport twice in a row and picking up plenty of wins in the warm up tournaments being held in Europe ahead of the third Grand Slam of the season.

He has won two more here in Halle, including upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Second Round and Alex Michelsen will feel he can frustrate Daniil Medvedev if he is serving as well as he can.

In his relatively short grass court career, Alex Michelsen has won 67% of the points played and that is always going to give him a chance to use the scoreboard to make the opponent feel under pressure. He will feel there is room for improvement when it comes to the return and that will be tested by someone like Daniil Medvedev, especially after producing two solid wins in the main draw.

There was a time when Medvedev did not like playing on this surface, but the last couple of years have been much stronger and his serve can be just as effective as the one that Michelsen will bring onto the court.

Daniil Medvedev is another player who will feel there is more to come from the return, but he has looked better in that aspect this past few days in Halle. He has the capabilities of coming through a tight first set to break the back of the match and Daniil Medvedev can reach the Semi Final with a solid win under his belt.

MY PICKS: Leylah Fernandez - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Aryna Sabalenka- Elena Rybakina Over 22.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Jack Draper - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Holger Rune - 3.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Daniil Medvedev - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 6-5, - 0.16 Units (11 Units Staked, - 1.45% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Thursday 19th June)

The majority of the selections made this week have followed the numbers- Joao Fonseca was a touch unfortunate, but Emma Navarro struggled for much of the defeat to Paula Badosa and that was reflected in the final score.

Jack Draper's failure to cover is the exception.

He had four Break Point chances in the first set, but failed to convert and was punished by dropping serve to lose that set 6-3... Even after winning the second set 6-2, Draper could not find a way to cover the handicap mark and it was a match where, once again, the dominant Break Point opportunities did not result in a successful outcome.

At least Alexander Zverev came through his First Round match, even if it was a disappointing day overall.

On Thursday the Quarter Final lineup will be completed at the four tournaments being played this week and so there are plenty of matches to get through with the remainder of the Second Round all to be played.

However, it looks like the research can only identify three selections- one from Nottingham, Halle and Queen's- that can be read below.

Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 games v Jaume Munar: Back to back Wimbledon titles have been secured and there are no real concerns about the ability of Carlos Alcaraz when it comes to performing on this surface.

He is also a former Champion at Queen's Club in West London and so there were real reasons to consider withdrawing from the tournament and just using a couple of exhibition events to warm up for Wimbledon.

The main reason was recovering from the emotional and physical success in Paris earlier this month- Carlos Alcaraz defended the French Open title by coming from 2-0 down in sets to defeat Jannik Sinner and there was no doubt how much energy that was needed to do that in the manner it happened.

Eventually the decision was made to play at Queen's again, and Carlos Alcaraz made a comfortable start to the tournament with a routine straight sets win over Adam Walton. The scoreboard suggested a close match, but the World Number 2 was in complete control of the contest and he can build on that.

Carlos Alcaraz faces a compatriot in the Second Round and Jaume Munar is one of those Spanish players that has struggled to have an impact on the grass.

Jaume Munar came through the First Round when Jordan Thompson had to withdraw from the match after a single set was completed, but prior to the event, the World Number 59 had a career record of 3-13 when playing on this surface. Suffice to say it is a time of the season when Jaume Munar is not at his best and it will be tough for him to challenge someone of the confidence and quality of Carlos Alcaraz.

It would be a big challenge even on Munar's favoured clay courts, but on this surface it should be a bigger edge with Carlos Alcaraz, who should feel relatively comfortable in the match up.

He should be able to get into the rallies on the return and that should see Carlos Alcaraz exert his qualities over Jaume Munar- as long as Alcaraz serves as well as he can, he should have enough about him to earn the breaks of serve needed to cover what is a pretty big line for a best of three set match on the grass.

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 games v Tomas Martin Etcheverry: Last year was a disappointment for Andrey Rublev as far as the grass courts were concerned, but he was a very confident winner in the First Round. This is a player who has performed pretty well on the grass courts in the past and that crushing win over Sebastian Ofner will only have given Rublev some belief in what has been an inconsistent season.

He is next up against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Halle and the World Number 63 is not someone who has a lot of grass court experience or success to call upon. His First Round win over Pedro Martinez, another Spaniard who prefers not to play on this surface, saw Tomas Martin Etcheverry improve his career record to 4-9 on the grass, but Andrey Rublev had double that number of wins in just the 2023 season alone.

An early loss in Hertogenbosch backs up the issues that Tomas Martin Etcheverry has had on the grass, but there has to be some respect for a player who gets plenty out of his serve.

On a surface like this one, serving well can keep a player in any match being played and Martin Etcheverry will certainly look to see how Andrey Rublev handles his own frustrations if the lower Ranked player is able to keep the service games ticking over.

A loss of focus when things are not going his way have held Andrey Rublev back, but he has shown enough patience on a surface like this one to produce some solid returning numbers. The way he dealt with the Sebastian Ofner serve bodes well for Rublev, especially if he can continue to serve at the level he was showing in the First Round.

When these two met on the hard courts in Canada last summer in the build up to the US Open, Andrey Rublev did display that patience to come through a tough first set before moving clear in the second. He may need something similar in this match in Halle, but Andrey Rublev can eventually make his superior grass court qualities display that on the final scoreboard.

Sonay Kartal + 3.5 games v Katie Boulter: All credit has to be given to Sonay Kartal for the year she has put together, which means coming into this tournament as the World Number 50, her career best World Ranking mark. It also means direct entry into the main draw at Wimbledon, where she reached the Third Round last year and the 23 year old will feel there is more to come.

She will certainly want to get up to the kind of level that Katie Boulter has reached as the two British players prepare to face off in the Second Round in Nottingham.

Losing to Amanda Anisimova at Queen's last week will have been a blow for Sonay Kartal, although the form of the American cannot be dismissed. In the same tournament Katie Boulter was not able to build on taking the opening set against Diana Shnaider, but the World Number 39 looked pretty comfortable in her opening win here in Nottingham.

Both are pretty comfortable on the grass courts, which is no surprise, but it has been mentioned before that Katie Boulter has struggled for big wins on the surface.

That is not the case for Sonay Kartal, who beat the World Number 16 last week and who upset a couple of top 50 Ranked players in her run at Wimbledon last year.

Their sole previous match up on the Tour ended in a three set win for Katie Boulter on the grass courts of Surbiton a couple of years ago, but Sonay Kartal was much lower in the World Rankings on that occasion. There is not so much between them now and Sonay Kartal has the grass court qualities to at least keep this one competitive with the games being given to her.

MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Sonay Kartal + 3.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 5-3, + 1.04 Units (8 Units Staked, + 13% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Wednesday 18th June)

A couple of rolls of the ball or a mishit here or there may have led to a perfect 5-0 start to the week for the Tennis Picks, but it was not to be for Joao Fonseca, who had late Break Point opportunities to win and cover.

Instead he was beaten in a third set tie-breaker, but Andrey Rublev had already done all that was expected from him earlier in the day in Halle and that has prevented this week having the same slide as last week following a strong start for the selections.

Moving onto Wednesday means more big names are in action and the majority of the tournaments being played will be into Second Round action over the next couple of days. There some First Round matches to clear up in Halle as the organisers gave a couple of Finalists from the end of last week a bit more time to prepare for their event, but in the main it is onto Second Round action in what are the last really big events before the start of Wimbledon a week on Monday.

Emma Navarro v Paula Badosa: Both of these players produced very solid First Round wins in Berlin and previous form on the grass courts should mean Emma Navarro and Paula Badosa are set for decent impacts when Wimbledon gets underway.

The more matches that can be played now could pay off in SW19 and so this is an important Second Round match.

Last week Emma Navarro was beaten at the same stage at Queens Club in London, while Paula Badosa is playing her first grass court event of 2025, and the performances that have been produced in the opening wins should have given each plenty of confidence.

At the same time, both Navarro and Badosa have struggled for some consistency in the last few months and so they will be looking to rebuild some of the lost confidence by having a strong run in Berlin.

Emma Navarro was a Wimbledon Quarter Finalist last year, and that had followed a Semi Final run in Bad Homburg. She has yet to really find the same level on the surface in the opening three matches played, but all three have been against decent players on the Tour and going 2-1 will certainly help the American believe that her tennis is in a good spot.

In the same two events in 2024, Paula Badosa reached the Fourth Round in SW19 and Quarter Final in Bad Homburg, and she looked in strong shape in crushing home hope Eva Lys in the First Round. This is a significant step upwards in terms of a challenge having split two matches with Emma Navarro last year with the Badosa win being on a clay court and the Navarro win coming at the US Open on the hard courts.

Paula Badosa has all of the attributes to be a really strong grass court player- the serve can be a huge weapon and she showed that she can get her teeth into the return last year and in the strong First Round win.

However, that will be tested by Emma Navarro if the World Number 9 is anywhere near her best and the match up with the Spaniard has been one that she has enjoyed.

This has the makings of a close Second Round match between two players separated by one place in the World Rankings and Emma Navarro can secure the upset. It was something of a surprise that she has been set as the pretty strong underdog, and the American can make use of the games being given to her on the handicap.

Jack Draper - 3.5 games v Alexei Popyrin: Over the last twelve months, Alexei Popyrin has perhaps picked up a better understanding of playing on the grass courts, although it is still a work in progress. He is going to be Seeded at Wimbledon later this month and Alexei Popyrin has won six of his last ten matches on the surface having gotten the better of compatriot Aleksandar Vukic in the First Round.

That followed an early loss in Hertogenbosch and there is little doubt that Alexei Popyrin is a very dangerous player on this surface as long as he serves as well as he can. Doing that makes it very difficult to get on top of him and Popyrin won a set in a Third Round loss to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, which will have given him a lot of confidence to perform on this surface.

Playing in London means it is tennis season and Alexei Popyrin has had previous experience of facing a British player at Queens Club when losing to Andy Murray in what turned out to be the last Singles win of the latter's very strong career.

This time he has to face the British Number 1, who is also the World Number 6, and Jack Draper has all of the tools needed to be a very successful player on the surface.

He won a title on the grass in Stuttgart last year, but Draper was disappointingly beaten early at Wimbledon and so there has been a tweak of the schedule. This time Jack Draper decided to have some time off before Queens got underway and he was a very strong First Round winner.

Jack Draper's improvement on the Tour has been behind the strong lefty serve, and that is a weapon that is considerably more dangerous on a surface like this one. He should be able to largely contain the Alexei Popyrin threat when he is serving and that should allow Draper the freedom to try and attack the Australian, who has given up seventeen Break Points in two matches played on the grass this month.

When he is serving at his best, Alexei Popyrin can be very difficult to break- he held 89% of his service games on the grass courts in 2024. This is not an easy surface to break serve, but Jack Draper has had some decent numbers on the grass and he can use his own serve to put some scoreboard pressure on the lower Ranked player.

The home player can take some encouragement from the fact he was able to break the Alexei Popyrin twice on the hard courts of Doha earlier this season too and Draper may have enough to cover the spread in this one barring a significant serving improvement from the World Number 21.

Alexander Zverev - 3.5 games v Marcos Giron: It was something of a surprise to not see Marcos Giron's name on the draw sheet at either of the two grass court events played last week.

In recent years, the 31 year old has been a comfortable grass court player and he has had some big wins and solid runs on the surface.

He arrives in Halle to face the home favourite, Alexander Zverev, who is also fresh off of reaching the Stuttgart Final before being downed by Taylor Fritz again. This is also a player who has regularly reached the business end at this tournament in the build up to Wimbledon, although Zverev will have plenty of respect for the kind of tennis that Marcos Giron can produce on the grass.

The serve was key for Marcus Giron last year and it helped him win the ATP title in Newport, as well as reaching the Quarter Final here in Halle. During that summer on the grass, Giron was able to take a set from Jack Draper and beat Andrey Rublev, which are impressive performances and his runs were ended by top ten Ranked players here and at Wimbledon.

The second of those defeats was to Alexander Zverev, who dismissed Marcus Giron at SW19 far more easily than anyone could have really imagined.

It is the kind of win that will give Zverev confidence as he heads out onto the court on Wednesday following the loss in Stuttgart on Sunday and the only real concern is whether he is that motivated for another long week with Wimbledon fast approaching. Having those wins in Stuttgart could be a distraction for Alexander Zverev, even if he is going to be well backed by the fans in the stands, although the match up is hard to ignore.

He has won all three previous matches against Marcus Giron and the two wins in 2024 both came in straight sets.

Overall it has been a real challenge for the World Number 41 to get into the Alexander Zverev service games and that has put too much pressure on his own serve.

It should be noted that Alexander Zverev is not the most convincing of return players on the faster surfaces, but he should have enough chances in this First Round match to win and go through with a cover of this handicap mark.

MY PICKS: Emma Navarro + 2.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Jack Draper - 3.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Alexander Zverev - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 4-1, + 2.32 Units (5 Units Staked, + 46.40% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Friday 13th June)

The French Open frustration was largely built on the fact that too many matches had seen players dominate the Break Points, but find a way to miss out on winning those important points.

It felt like something of a hangover from that when the opening Pick of the week struggled to get over the line, despite having the better of the chances.

However, Diana Shnaider was able to rally together in time to produce the win needed and Elena Rybakina was then able to save some late Break Points to earn another winner.

Emma Raducanu rounded out the day, even after blowing a 5-0 lead in the first set, and that has produced a solid opener to the grass court season.

There is still some work to do to secure a positive return for the week, but that start at least puts a solid foundation to build upon.

Madison Keys - 2.5 games v Diana Shnaider: The opening Quarter Final at Queens looks a very good looking match on Friday and both Madison Keys and Diana Shnaider have had solid victories under their belt over the last few days.

Playing on the grass after a long grass court season can be challenging, but having those matches, and wins, to fall back upon should mean Keys and Shnaider are pretty happy with where they are.

Madison Keys was Seeded through to the Second Round and won her match on Wednesday, which means having had a day of rest ahead of the Quarter Final. That should be a help, while the fact that Diana Shnaider was pushed into a third set in her own Second Round win over Katie Boulter could leave the youngster a little vulnerable.

She has won a title on the grass in 2024 and so Diana Shnaider will enter the court with some confidence.

Serving well is going to be the key for the World Number 12 and the first two matches have shown enough from Diana Shnaider to believe she can give Madison Keys something to think about. Playing the Break Points with a bit more confidence will be important and Diana Shnaider has to be careful that she is not offering up too many looks at her second serve.

There is no doubt that Madison Keys is going to be serving well- this is a big part of her tennis and over the years the serve has been a key weapon for Keys on the grass. She has enjoyed some quality runs at Wimbledon and there is a new confidence around Madison Keys since winning the Australian Open earlier this year.

One of the criticisms of the American has been on the return of serve as Madison Keys has struggled with the balance needed to be really effective on this surface.

However, Keys got her eye in during the Second Round win and she did have too much for Diana Shnaider when they met in Miami in March 2024.

The younger player is much improved fifteen months later, but Madison Keys may just have the grass court know-how to get the better of Diana Shnaider again.

Elena Rybakina - 5.5 games v Tatjana Maria: At 37 years old, you can forgive Tatjana Maria if she is considering ending her time on the Tour at the end of the season, especially having lost more matches than she has won over the last twelve months.

Slipping down the World Rankings and having to Qualify for some of the important events on the Tour may not be something that Tatjana Maria is prepared to do, although her run at Queens will certainly help.

Her run is set to take her back inside the top 80 of the World Rankings, but Maria will be thinking about more than that.

It would mean upsetting a former Wimbledon Champion- Elena Rybakina won the title in 2022, but it was also a memorable tournament for Tatjana Maria who reached the Semi Final and was a set away from beating Ons Jabeur. Four wins here in Queens, including two against top 30 Ranked players, will have given Tatjana Maria confidence and her previous grass exploits deserve respect.

At the same time this is another significant test for the underdog, especially if Elena Rybakina has just found her range back on the grass court.

Only late nerves added some drama to the Second Round win over Heather Watson, but Elena Rybakina was very good on the day and she will have gained plenty from having that grass court match. Her game is tailored to be very effective on this surface and the Quarter Final could follow a similar pattern to the Second Round win.

Elena Rybakina will know there are some improvements to be made- she will need to do better on the second serve and the returning numbers can be improved, but the power in her tennis is hard to ignore.

A tough opening set is to be expected, but Elena Rybakina can find a way to move in front and then perhaps power through the second set, much like she did against Heather Watson.

The only previous match between Elena Rybakina and Tatjana Maria ended with the former coming through 7-5, 6-0 on a hard court at the back end of 2023. This one is unlikely to be as wide as that, but Elena Rybakina could still cover the handicap mark that has been set.

MY PICKS: Madison Keys - 2.5 Games @ 1.66 William Hill (1 Unit)

Elena Rybakina - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 3-0, + 2.65 Units (3 Units Staked, + 88.33% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2025 (Thursday 12th June)

A decision was made partway through the French Open to really take a watching brief after some brutal luck early in the tournament.

Ultimately the feeling was that I had ignored the way the tournament was developing at the Australian Open in 2024 and that set the entirety of the season behind schedule.

With a solid opening to 2025 under the belt, the feeling was that there was some confusion in the selections being made at the French Open and so I did not want to remain on a pathway that was not going to be leading to a positive return. Instead it was better to just take a step back and that proved to be the case with some many of the matches in the second week of the event also seemingly moving against the numbers.

It has been a tough tournament, but in a long season, you have to expect some of the lows although I am always keen to avoid them at Grand Slam events.

The numbers on the tournament were a disappointment, but that was far from the word that would have been used for the Men's Final last Sunday.

Jannik Sinner has to be feeling incredibly sick at blowing the chance to win a third Grand Slam in a row- he was up two sets and a break and then had three consecutive Championship Points in the fourth set, only to be eventually undone in a Champions tie-breaker at the end of the absorbing fifth set.

For fans of the sport who have lived through the Big Four era, it was an incredible Final put together by the two best players on the ATP Tour and you would be hard pressed to find too many people who are not anticipating Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz facing off on Sunday 13th July in the Wimbledon Final.

That Grand Slam Final will sit alongside some of the very best we have seen, but the Women's Final was not as strong in terms of quality, but had plenty of drama attached to it too.

Aryna Sabalenka is a fabulous player, but a late Grand Slam capitulation has become far too familiar for her, her team and her fans and she will head to Wimbledon with all of the attributes to win the title, except perhaps the most important which is the mental strength.

Some will consider that a harsh assessment of a player that has won multiple Grand Slam titles, but these late collapses have prevented the World Number 1 having double the number that is in the trophy cabinet.

The victor, Coco Gauff, has plenty of grass court pedigree of her own so the top two players are expected to be there or thereabouts, even if the Women's Wimbledon tournament has been wide open over recent years. There will be players who feel they can put the tennis together to have a big event when that begins in July and it will be interesting to see how the draw shapes up.

Before the third Grand Slam of the season gets underway, there are three weeks of grass court tournaments in the lead up to Wimbledon.

The short season is still one that some believe should be expanded, but there are a lot of players who cannot stand this time of the year and those are the vulnerable ones you have to look out for.

Form can be determined by results over the remainder of the month, including at the new WTA event being played at Queens this week.

Early matches have really provided a watching brief, although one or two selections came very close to being placed on a thread here.

I have noted that the layers are taking no chances with the total games marks being set for matches in Stuttgart and Hertogenbosch, where the ATP are playing (there is also a WTA event in the latter), and so the main focus for the remainder of this week could be on the WTA events being played, notably that one in West London not far from Wimbledon.

Selections will be made when they are fitting the criteria and the ambition over the last two and a half weeks of June is to build some momentum to take into the third Grand Slam of the season.

Emma Raducanu - 4.5 games v Rebecca Sramkova: Weeks before beginning her memorable run at the US Open, Emma Raducanu really announced herself to the British public by reaching the Fourth Round at Wimbledon.

Two top 50 Ranked players were beaten in that run, including Marketa Vondrousova who would go on to win Wimbledon in 2023, but suffice to say it has been a tough few years for Emma Raducanu who will be playing as the World Number 37 this week.

2022 was just a difficult season overall and 2023 injuries meant missing the grass court season entirely, but the British player is very comfortable on this surface. Last year she displayed that comfort with another Fourth Round run at Wimbledon, while Emma Raducanu also reached a Semi Final and a Quarter Final in warm up events.

A crushing First Round win at the reborn Queens tournament will have served as a reminder and Emma Raducanu deserves her strong favouritism in this match.

Some may disagree when noting that Rebecca Sramkova is only four places below Emma Raducanu in the World Rankings and playing in this Second Round after upsetting Wimbledon Champion Barbora Krejcikova in the First Round, but it should be noted that the latter is not looking like a player that will have another deep run in SW19 as injuries have held her back.

Back in 2016, Rebecca Sramkova did reach the Final of an event played on the grass courts, but at a level far below the WTA Tour... Since then it has been a real struggle for the 28 year old who has a 5-6 record on the grass and shown enough disdain for the surface to only have been involved in matches under the Wimbledon banner before taking part in the tournament here in Queens.

Prior to the win over Krejcikova, Rebecca Sramkova had never beaten a top 100 Ranked player on the grass and this should be a match where Emma Raducanu feels pretty comfortable, especially with the surface having a bit more wear on it.

The Sramkova first serve can be an effective weapon and that deserves some respect, but she is going to have to take risks with it and that means the percentage being made is likely to hover around the 52-55% mark. That should open the door for Emma Raducanu to turn the screw on the return of serve and the British player has been able to produce a 6-2 record on the grass when facing players outside of the top 20 in the World Rankings over the last twelve months.

Her return has not always been the most efficient, but Raducanu had her eye in during the First Round win and can back that up with another strong performance.

Diana Shnaider - 2.5 games v Katie Boulter: A French Open that ended prematurely will have disappointed Diana Shnaider, but the youngster showed some solid grass court qualities last year and may feel she can put together some strong results on this surface again.

The crushing First Round win can only offer the World Number 12 some real confidence to take into this match, which is going to be far from easy against a home player who will have the crowd firmly behind her.

Katie Boulter will still be hoping she can earn a Seed for Wimbledon and she is the current World Number 34, while in recent years she has shown her passion for grass court tennis. Throughout her career, Boulter has proven to be a very comfortable player on a surface that so many struggle to deal with, and she has a 29-12 record in main WTA tournaments played on the grass since the Covid cancelled 2020 grass court season.

Despite that, Katie Boulter will perhaps be a little disappointed that the win-loss record drops to 17-11 when only considering matches played against top 100 Ranked players in that time. She is also just 12-10 when facing opponents that are Ranked higher than her when the match is played, and eleven of those wins were in either 2021 or 2022 when Katie Boulter was Ranked outside of the top 100.

She still had to win the matches, but it is a real worry that the current British Number 1 has a 1-4 record against opponents Ranked higher than herself since cracking the top 100 in her own right.

Even her First Round win over Ajla Tomljanovic was a real battle- the Australian is a very good grass court player too, but she is only returning from an injury and is the World Number 64, while Tomljanovic will be frustrated at creating 14 Break Points compared with just 6 for Katie Boulter.

This is a significant step upwards for Boulter, who will need the crowd to get behind her and push her through, but the Birmingham Quarter Finalist and Bad Homburg Champion from 2024 should have the power to come through.

Elena Rybakina - 5.5 games v Heather Watson: The first match on a grass court can always be an awkward experience, even for a former Wimbledon Champion like Elena Rybakina.

Her performance at Roland Garros has to offer some encouragement to a player who continues to deal with off court issues that are clearly impacting her play on the court.

Elena Rybakina has every tool you would want if you were going to build a proper grass court player- she is perhaps a slightly weaker mover than ideal, but the big serve and the powerful aggressive groundstrokes makes the World Number 11 a real contender when Wimbledon rolls around.

She will be given a test by Heather Watson, even if the 33 year old British player has slipped down the World Rankings. These days it is the likes of Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter who will make the headlines for British Women's tennis in the summer and Heather Watson has not only fallen to World Number 164, but she was beaten early in a lower level event in Birmingham.

Heather Watson has to feel she has benefited from needing to win a couple of Qualifiers to take her place in the main draw in Queens and she was able to best World Number 27 Yulia Putintseva in the First Round without dropping a set.

However, this feels like a considerable step upwards against a former Wimbledon Champion and especially when you factor in Heather Watson's 3-8 record in her previous eleven grass court matches before entering the Qualifying draw here.

All three of her defeats last year were in competitive matches, but none of the opponents were nearly as highly Ranked as Elena Rybakina is and the question really is about how quickly the higher Seed can get into the groove on the grass.

The expectation is that the first set could be more competitive, but Rybakina may begin to move through the gears into the second set and that can see her progress to the Quarter Final with a solid win on the board.

MY PICKS: Emma Raducanu - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Diana Shnaider - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Elena Rybakina - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

2025 Season: 90-75, + 8.10 Units (203 Units Staked, + 3.99% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 15th)

A mixed set of results on Tuesday means I have not really had the kind of bounce back day as I was hoping for, but it could, and perhaps should, have been better.

At one point it was looking really worrying with Emil Ruusuvuori struggling to complete a win that should have been much more comfortable, but it could have been worse and I will just have to begin the turn of this week on Wednesday.

Alexander Bublik-Marin Cilic over 23.5 games: After reaching the French Open Semi Final, Marin Cilic has to be heading into the remainder of the 2022 season with plenty of confidence behind him. The grass court season is one that could be particularly important for Marin Cilic who has shown himself to be a pretty solid competitor on the surface throughout his career, a surface that many other players do not enjoy.

With the confidence of the run in Paris behind him, Marin Cilic could be one of those players that could be very dangerous in the draw at Wimbledon. The third Grand Slam of the season will have Novak Djokovic entering as favourite, but Marin Cilic will not be overly concerned by too many other names in the draw and there feels like a real opportunity in front of him.

This time twelve months ago, Marin Cilic was Ranked at 37, but he is back inside the top 20 of the World Rankings and is a former two time Queens Champion. He had a tougher than expected First Round win over Liam Broady, but having his footing back on top of the grass courts should stand him in good stead and Marin Cilic is the favourite in this Second Round match.

Last year he won the title in Stuttgart and I do think the time spent on court in the First Round will benefit Marin Cilic.

He takes on Alexander Bublik who looked to be on his way to a First Round win before Lorenzo Musetti retired from the match and in recent seasons he has shown he can perform on the grass courts. A disappointing loss to Andy Murray in the Second Round in Stuttgart last week has been franked by the fact the British player reached the Final there, while Alexander Bublik has a serve that can be very effective on the faster surfaces and on the grass.

Over the last twelve months, Alexander Bublik has held 87% of his service games played on the grass courts and I do think he will give Marin Cilic something to think about. The long levers may mean Cilic is able to get more balls back in play, but their previous two matches on the Tour suggests it will be tough to earn the breaks.

Both of those have been played on the clay courts and Alexander Bublik has won 63% of his service points on a slower surface, although Marin Cilic has won each match. In both occasions, the match has needed a deciding set though and it does feel it is possible for Bublik to serve well enough to make this very competitive.

Marin Cilic's serve has been a big problem for Alexander Bublik to deal with on the clay and it will be that much tougher on the grass. I think the favourite will be able to roll through many of his own service games, but Alexander Bublik can serve effectively on this surface and it may see him force at least two tight sets, or perhaps even steal one and force this match into a decider like the previous two matches between these players have required.

Karolina Pliskova v Bianca Andreescu: I am a pretty big fan of Bianca Andreescu and I do think she is a player that could be competitive at the very top of the WTA Tour consistently if she is over the injuries that have blighted her career since winning the US Open.

The hard court season is coming up and there are limited points for the Canadian to defend before the final Grand Slam of the 2022 season begins in New York City and so I would expect a significant jump in the World Ranking.

She could be a potentially dangerous player in the draw at Wimbledon later this month, although Bianca Andreescu has not really shown a lot of affinity with the grass courts on the pro Tour. Her First Round win was a solid one, but it was a tough match for Andreescu and the feeling is that she is going to have to be a lot better if she is going to progress further in Berlin.

Injury has made it a tough year for Karolina Pliskova and she is coming off a disappointing Roland Garros, although the big server looks much more at home on the grass and hard courts rather than the clay courts throughout her career.

In 2019 Karolina Pliskova won a title on the grass courts and in 2021 she reached the Wimbledon Final after a couple of underwhelming performances in warm up events for the third Grand Slam of the season. After the early exit in Paris, it was perhaps surprising that Karolina Pliskova did not add a grass court tournament to her schedule last week, but she was a strong winner in the First Round having won twelve games in a row after dropping the first set to Kaia Kanepi.

The serve is the important weapon for Pliskova in this match and if she is able to back that up, I would expect her to have chances to at least attack the Bianca Andreescu serve.

Karolina Pliskova has to expect to get a few more cheaper points behind the first serve and Bianca Andreescu is still trying to work out the best approach to her tennis on this surface. Having to work hard to win service games on the grass means needing to get used to the movement needed and the Canadian has yet to really get to grips on playing on the grass.

I actually thought the Wimbledon Runner Up from last year would have been a stronger favourite than a pick 'em, although that could be down to the inconsistent form we have seen from Karolina Pliskova on her return. Being back on the grass courts should help and I think Karolina Pliskova is able to edge past Bianca Andreescu thanks to the first serve.

MY PICKS: Alexander Bublik-Marin Cilic Over 23.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Alex De Minaur - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Jack Draper-Emil Ruusuvuori Over 23.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Grigor Dimitrov - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Karolina Pliskova @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Ekaterina Alexandrova - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Simona Halep - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Hubert Hurkacz-Ugo Humbert Over 22.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Nick Kyrgios-Stefanos Tsitsipas Over 23.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 7-8, - 4.42 Units (30 Units Staked, - 14.73% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 13th)

The first grass court tournaments of the 2022 season are in the books, but stronger fields have assembled this week with bigger Ranking points available.

With the uncertainty about the tournament in Queens and whether the Ranking points would be stripped after Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players, I do think it has suffered in the entry list.

In previous years, Queens has had so many of the top names involved, but the field clearly looks weaker in 2022, although Matteo Berrettini is back as the defending Champion fresh off his success last week in Stuttgart.

After a difficult ending to the clay court season, it was good to get the grass court season off to a winning start with both Picks on Sunday coming back as winners.

It is something to build upon with another busy week to come as four events get underway on Monday.

Cameron Norrie - 1.5 games v Grigor Dimitrov: This is the first grass court event being played by both Cameron Norrie and Grigor Dimitrov and they would have likely been hoping for an 'easier' First Round match than the one in front of them.

He may represent Britain, but Cameron Norrie had not really played that well on the grass courts before reaching the Final here at Queens last year. The lefty followed that up by making the Third Round at Wimbledon before losing to Roger Federer in four sets and so there may be more confidence going into the next month than Cameron Norrie has had previously.

I won't ignore the fact that the draws opened up for Cameron Norrie last year with the best win coming in the Semi Final at this event when he beat Denis Shapovalov. However, that is one of just two wins against opponents Ranked inside the top 30 in 2021 and Cameron Norrie will still have something to prove as he begins another run at Queens.

Facing someone like Grigor Dimitrov will give Cameron Norrie plenty to think about with the Bulgarian being comfortable on the grass courts, although recent years have become much tougher for Dimitrov.

Since reaching the Semi Final in Queens and following up with a Fourth Round run at Wimbledon in 2017, Grigor Dimitrov is just 2-5 in grass court matches. Last year he didn't even bother playing any grass court events in the lead into Wimbledon, while Grigor Dimitrov has won a single match in his two previous appearances at this event.

Both players will be confident in their serving numbers on the grass courts, but Cameron Norrie showed something with his returning in 2021. That is more than what we have seen from Grigor Dimitrov, while the higher Ranked player also has the mental edge from the previous two matches between them.

Those two matches may have both been played on the hard courts in 2021, but Cameron Norrie won both and has yet to drop a set to Grigor Dimitrov. There has been a clear edge in favour of Cameron Norrie who has held 85% of his service games played in those two matches compared with Dimitrov's 61% number and I do think the experiences of last year will aid the British player in this one.

In the last three seasons on the grass courts, Grigor Dimitrov has only broken in 16% of return games played and that has put significant pressure on his own serve. I think that could show up in this First Round match and Cameron Norrie should be able to serve well enough to get on top of Grigor Dimitrov and cover this spread in the victory.

Alexander Bublik - 2.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: After Roland Garros came to a conclusion, most players would have been focusing on the grass court season and transitioning onto the surface before Wimbledon begins. For Lorenzo Musetti, it was a time to play a Challenger event on the clay before heading to Stuttgart and it is perhaps no surprise he was beaten in the First Round.

He did win the Challenger in Forli, but it did mean Lorenzo Musetti had little time on the grass before losing in Stuttgart.

Now he has had a few more days to adjust, but you cannot ignore the fact that the young Italian is playing just his third match on the surface and has been well beaten in his first two attempts at grass court tennis. The serve has the potential to be a weapon on grass, especially against a largely limited return player he is facing in the First Round in London, but Lorenzo Musetti has struggled when it comes to the return and I do think that goes against him here.

Alexander Bublik was beaten in the Second Round in Stuttgart, but that does mean he has a win under his belt and he is someone who has shown improvement in his grass court tennis in 2019 and 2021. The loss to Andy Murray would have hurt last week, but Alexander Bublik was guilty of some loose play and could easily have turned the match on its head if serving out the second set.

While not being the best return player, Alexander Bublik did break twice in both matches played last week and ended 2021 with 20% of return games ending with a break on the grass. I do think he will get a few more looks than Lorenzo Musetti in this one with that experience of stringing wins together giving him a mental edge in the match and I do think he can do enough to find the breaks needed to progress with a strong win on the scoreboard behind him.

As long as Alexander Bublik serves well, he should be able to contain the Lorenzo Musetti return and it could lead to frustration and scoreboard pressure wearing on the younger player. We have seen him crack in his only two previous grass court matches on the pro Tour and I can see Alexander Bublik becoming the latest to take advantage.

MY PICKS: Cameron Norrie - 1.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Alexander Bublik - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)

Ilya Ivashka-Jan-Lennard Struff Over 22.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Viktorija Gloubic - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2019 (June 23rd)

I am a little bit late with the Tennis Picks on Final day across the four tournaments that were being played through the last seven days.

We also have the beginning of Eastbourne on Sunday with a huge draw being put together in the WTA event there that should give us a pretty good indication as to how Wimbledon will go. Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova are two players who are leading the market without playing a single competitive grass court match so far this year, but both have some serious health issues around them, but there are plenty of big names in action on the south coast of England who will feel they can make a serious impact at SW19 from next Monday.

Below you can see my selections from the Sunday matches and I will be back with fuller threads from Monday. This week the Picks may not cover every day with this being the final week before a Grand Slam, but there should be decent angles to play over the coming days to hopefully add to the season totals ahead of the third Slam of the 2019 season.


MY PICKS: Feliciano Lopez - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Roger Federer - 4.5 Games @ 2.20 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Julia Goerges + 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Johanna Konta - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 30-18, + 19.26 Units (96 Units Staked, + 20.06% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2019 (June 22nd)

It's been a long day today which means I have not had the time to write out my full thoughts on the Semi Final matches that are taking place on Saturday.

My focus for the Tennis Picks is going to be on the events being played in London and Mallorca to close out what has been a strong week.

Hopefully one more positive day can be put on the board to ensure a solid return from the last week and add to the season totals. On Sunday we also have the beginning of the events in Antalya and Eastbourne which will get going early so they can be concluded next Saturday ahead of the third Grand Slam of the season.

Picks over the next few days may be less frequent as players turn their focus to Wimbledon, but you can find some nice angles at this time too. With limited grass court tennis played, we do get to see some more familiar names in the final week before this Grand Slam is played so there may be more opportunities.

First things first, let's get this week concluded in the best possible way.


MY PICKS: Anastasija Sevastova - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Angelique Kerber - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Daniil Medvedev-Gilles Simon Under 21.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Feliciano Lopez @ 3.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 29-15, + 23.06 Units (89 Units Staked, + 25.91% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2019 (June 21st)

Thursday was the poorest day of the week so far as I ended up with my first losing day, but a strong end prevented it being a terrible day.

I have to take some of the blame, I overrated a couple of players I shouldn't have, while I was happy with my selection of Lucas Pouille even though he was beaten in three sets. At the price he was definitely the value play for me and on another day he would have won that match with the opportunities that had come his way at key moments.

On Friday we move onto the Quarter Final Round at the four events being played this week and that means there are sixteen matches to research through. A few of them are already ones in which I won't be making a selection as I don't feel comfortable backing either player, but hopefully I have made the right plays to have another positive day and move the weekly totals back in the right direction.


Matteo Berrettini - 1.5 games v Karen Khachanov: For the second time in two weeks we are going to see Matteo Berrettini and Karen Khachanov face off on the grass courts as they meet in Germany once again. Last week it was Berrettini who won when these two met in the First Round in Stuttgart, but Khachanov has had previous successes in Halle which should give him the belief he can turn things around.

It certainly won't be easy when you think of the confidence with which Berrettini is playing at the moment. He won the title in Stuttgart last week and that has taken him to a career best World Number 22 in the Rankings, and the Italian has shown very little sign that he is ready to give up the momentum he has built up since moving onto the grass.

The serve has been a huge weapon for Berrettini who was broken for the first time in the Second Round win over Andreas Seppi. He actually dropped the first set in that match, but Berrettini is very confident and was a comfortable winner on the day to move through to another Quarter Final.

It now means Berrettini has held almost 99% of the service games he has played on the grass in 2019. This week he has been very strong through the first two Rounds with 79% of points won behind the serve, although Karen Khachanov will certainly feel he can match his opponent in that department.

Karen Khachanov has now held 85% of his service games played on the grass courts in 2019, while he has been strong in Halle where he has held 92% of his service games played thanks to winning 73% of points behind serve. Make no mistake that both players will look to build pressure by running through their service games, but the big difference between them is how effective they have been returning.

Matteo Berrettini has broken in 21% of his return games played and is winning 35% of points against the opponent's serve. At the same time Khachanov is at 16% and 35% respectively and I do think that can make the difference in a match where the prices have been reversed from Stuttgart with Berrettini going in as the slight favourite.

This is going to be the third match between these two in 2019 including the second on the grass courts and it is Berrettini who has been more successful on the return. While he has held serve in 96% of service games played, Khachanov is at 75% and I am going to back the Italian to make it three wins in a row over this opponent whilst also being in a position to cover this number thanks to the superior return ability.


Alexander Zverev - 2.5 games v David Goffin: This should be a very good Quarter Final match to watch with two talented players meeting in Halle on Friday. Alexander Zverev and David Goffin have both spent considerable time in the top ten of the World Rankings, but there have been some doubts with the level both have been producing in recent weeks.

Halle has been a good tournament for both men this week though as they have recorded some strong wins to make their way through to the Quarter Final. That should mean we see two confident players arrive on the court in the second match of the day, although I do think both Zverev and Goffin's confidence will be a little flaky considering the way recent weeks have gone.

We only have a small sample of grass court data and it does have to be said that Goffin's leaps from the page. However a deeper look shows he has won two matches extremely easily which are perhaps skewing how well he is playing, although on the other hand you can't ignore the fact that the Belgian has held 85% of his service games played on the grass over the last two weeks.

David Goffin has been able to back that up with some fine returning and this is a player that has played some solid tennis on the grass throughout his career. That certainly makes him a threat if Alexander Zverev is not at his best, but he continues to get plenty out of his service games and that should put him in a position to at least get on the front foot in rallies.

It will be the best way to try and keep Goffin from getting going on the return, but any second serves are likely being attacked with success.

Alexander Zverev has had his eye in when it comes to the return so far this week to back up the way he has been serving. He has broken in 31% of return games played in his two wins in Halle and I do think this is going to be a match where both players have plenty of break points.

The key could be that Zverev is likely going to be the player who can save a few more of those thanks to a big first serve, but I would not be surprised at all to this match going three sets. In their previous matches we have seen both players produce very similar numbers on the serve and return, but in the last two matches it is Zverev who has dominated the number of break points created.

I do think that will happen in this Quarter Final too and I will back Alexander Zverev to edge this match. Even in a three setter I think he will have every chance to cover the number in this one with an opportunity to win a set with a double break of serve and I will back the home hope to do that.


Stefanos Tsitsipas-Felix Auger-Aliassime over 24.5 games: In the years ahead matches between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime could easily be occurring at the business end of Grand Slam tournaments. Both of these very talented players continue to make a big impact on the ATP Tour while developing their games and both have the capabilities to be long-term top ten players once the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer move on.

They meet for the second time in 2019 and this time there is a Semi Final place on the line at the big pre-Wimbledon event held at Queens Club in West London. This tournament has long been a good indicator for success at SW19 and I think both players will be feeling good about their chances of going through to the final four.

I have to be slightly concerned with the amount of tennis both had to play on Thursday- Stefanos Tsitsipas had to come through a long, tough Second Round match after completing his First Round win over Kyle Edmund. It was more difficult for Felix Auger Aliassime who had to play both First and Second Round matches on the same day with almost three and a half hours spent on court.

At 18 years old I would hope the Canadian is able to recover to have a chance to be really competitive in this one. He is also backed up by an impressive serve which has seen Auger-Aliassime hold 94% of his service games played on the grass in 2019 which includes a run to the Final in Stuttgart last week. In the two matches played at Queens Auger-Aliassime has held every service games and has only faced two break points in the tournament.

Things would have been easier for him if Auger-Aliassime had been more effective on the return of serve, but that has not been the case and he has had to battle for his wins. The youngster is winning less than 30% of the return points played on the grass and Auger-Aliassime has broken in 10% of return games played this week.

He won't find it much easier against Stefanos Tsitsipas who has held 85% of his own service games played on the grass. The Greek star has been more effective at returning serve and that suggests the layers have got the right favourite in this match, but Auger-Aliassime crushed Tsitsipas in Indian Wells back in March and I do think this is going to be a close and competitive match.

Both players should have plenty of success when it comes to the serve and I would not be surprised if we get two very competitive sets to start this match. One break for either player may be enough to secure the set, but I also think there is every chance for the players to run through their service games and be forced into tie-breakers to determine sets.

I also wouldn't rule out a third set to decide the winner and I will back this match to produce more games than the total games line set even though it is a very large number. With the two players serving as they are, I can only see a competitive Quarter Final and far closer than the comfortable win Auger-Aliassime had over Tsitsipas in Indian Wells.

MY PICKS: Matteo Berrettini - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Alexander Zverev - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Stefanos Tsitsipas-Felix Auger-Aliassime Over 24.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)
Gilles Simon - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Feliciano Lopez @ 3.30 William Hill (1 Unit)
Anastasija Sevastova - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Barbora Strycova - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Venus Williams + 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Julia Goerges - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 24-11, + 22.06 Units (72 Units Staked, + 30.64% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2019 (June 20th)

I really can't have asked for much more from the last two days of Tennis Picks which have come back with a 15-3 record and one match being voided (while the player I had picked was 6-2, 2-0 ahead).

After a difficult opening week on the grass, this week has turned things right back around and moved this portion of the season back into a profit as we continue surging towards the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon.

Like I said on Wednesday, this is not the time to pat yourself on the back, but instead focus and double down on trying to keep the positive momentum going. I was glad to end the day with another winning record to keep pushing along, but I do expect more from myself as we move into completing the Second Round at the various events being played this week.


The rain in London has not let up as much as the organisers of the Queens tournament would have wanted and that does mean there are still some First Round matches that have to be completed. One of those was my selection from Tuesday picking Stefanos Tsitsipas to beat Kyle Edmund and cover the handicap mark, but those two players will have to complete their match on Thursday and the winner is likely going to have to play again later in the day.

Below you can see my selections from the Second Round matches that are scheduled to be played as we complete the Quarter Final line up for Friday. All of the events should be back on track by then, although I do think the tournament at Queens should swallow their pride and get the matches started at 11am rather than Midday which has been the case so far this week.

It will be fair to those players who need to complete their First Round matches to have some rest before the Second Round match later in the day and will also ensure the tournament is back on track and not affected by any lingering weather in the Barons Court area.

The schedule will be out by the time most read this so we will see, I was just a little disappointed they didn't have the early start on Wednesday which would have got at least one and perhaps two more matches through per court.


Steve Johnson-Alexander Zverev over 22.5 games: This has the making of a really good Second Round match and especially if Alexander Zverev continues to struggle to find the level he is capable of reaching. It has been a difficult couple of months for Zverev who was fortunate to come away with a straight sets win over Robin Haase in the First Round here in Halle after losing to Dustin Brown in his first match in Stuttgart last week.

In this one Zverev is going to have improve again when he takes on Steve Johnson who has proven to be very comfortable on the grass courts. The American had a very good win over Philipp Kohlschreiber as the underdog in the First Round and he has the kind of game that can make life very difficult for Zverev if he is not at his best on the day.

There is no doubt that Johnson is only going to go as far as his serve will carry him even if he has shown improvement on the return side of his game as far as the grass courts are concerned. However we saw in Stuttgart last week that Johnson still needs to get more out of his serve if he is going to have strong runs on this surface.

He has held 85% of his service games, but Johnson has won 63% of points behind serve in his two matches on the surface. That is a few ticks down on the usual level he has found on the grass and it has forced the American to have to dig in on the return, although to be fair to him the last twelve months have seen Johnson produce very well on that side of his game.

I would expect Johnson to test Alexander Zverev who is holding 80% of his service games on the grass courts in 2019. The major worry for the home player is that his break percentage is down on previous years and there has been a slight lack of confidence from Zverev on that side of his game in recent weeks which have led to tougher matches than expected.

As I said in the First Round, I do think Zverev is finding it difficult to win matches easily and I can see both players being just good enough on serve to get into a position to surpass the number of total games. There is every chance of the match needing three sets to separate them, but tie-breakers should be in play and even a long two setter can't be ruled out to help get over the number.


Roger Federer-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga over 22.5 games: A match that could easily be a Final in Halle rather than a Second Round takes place on Thursday and I wanted to write out a few thoughts about.

Roger Federer is one of the greatest grass court players of all time and he comes into his usual Wimbledon warm up off a fantastic Roland Garros. He had a strong win over John Millman in the First Round and the serve is a potent weapon on the surface which is going to make him very tough to beat when it comes to SW19 next month.

However this is a real challenge for Federer when he takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who is very comfortable on the grass himself. He has a big first serve which can set him up to get through service games very comfortably and their one previous match on the grass saw Tsonga come from 2-0 down to beat Federer in five sets.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has been producing some very good numbers behind serve and I expect it is going to be a tough match for Federer with a declining return game. There are still those moments Federer puts together which makes it hard to oppose him on the handicap, but I think Tsonga is going to serve big enough to force at least one tie-breaker.

The Frenchman is also someone who can put his returns together even if he is not the most convincing behind that shot. I expect he will have limited success against this Federer serve considering the former World Number has held 87% of service games played against him in their head to heads, but I have enough faith in the Tsonga serve to see him give Federer enough issues and help carry this match over the total games line.


Angelique Kerber - 1.5 games v Maria Sharapova: There was a real statistic attached to Maria Sharapova's First Round win in Mallorca that surprised me and that is that the former World Number 1 had not had a grass court win since 2015. I know injury and suspension has prevented Sharapova from playing a lot of grass court tennis in that time, but even then it was a real shock to read that.

The Russian was very happy with her performance in her win over Viktoria Kuzmova after Sharapova returned to the Tour following a long injury lay off. She has slipped down the World Rankings and you have to feel the next few months are very important for Maria Sharapova who won't want to have to Qualify for the biggest tournaments out there.

She doesn't have a lot of points to defend on the grass this year, but Sharapova will simply be hoping she has got through her First Round match without a negative reaction from the shoulder which has been keeping her off the Tour. The level of opponent goes up significantly in the Second Round in Mallorca too as she faces another former World Number 1 in Angelique Kerber.

The German is also the defending Wimbledon Champion and will be hoping a move from the clay onto the grass is going to reignite her season. This has been a time of the season that Kerber has enjoyed in the past with the extra pop she can get out of the serve and the movement she enjoys on the grass makes her a very difficult opponent to beat.

Angelique Kerber has set some high standards for herself to the point where it does feel her 2019 season has not been as strong as it should have been. She had to battle through the First Round and I do wonder if Kerber is fully healthy at the moment, but I think she is going to be someone who can challenge Sharapova who also has some fitness doubts around her.

In fact Kerber has won their sole previous match on the grass and crushed Sharapova when these two met at the Australian Open eighteen months ago. That should help her mentally, but this is going to be a tough match either way especially if Sharapova is able to perform to the level she did in the First Round.

For a long time the Sharapova first serve has been a huge weapon for her on the grass and she will need to get plenty of those in if she is going to upset Kerber. I do think Sharapova will have her moments, but her match rustiness may show up over the course of the match and I will look for Kerber's strong grass court pedigree to come through.


Venus Williams - 2.5 games v Qiang Wang: It is remarkable to think that Venus Williams turned 39 years old at the beginning of this week and yet still wants to be out there competing on the WTA Tour as she does. While no one is going to be surprised to read that Venus Williams is not the player she once was, her experience and continued success on the grass courts makes her a dangerous opponent on this surface.

The elder of the Williams sisters came through her First Round without too many problems on Wednesday, but playing back to back days gets harder the older you get and that is the challenge for her.

It does have to be noted that Qiang Wang also had to play her First Round match on Wednesday having seen the rain disrupt the tennis in Birmingham on Tuesday. However she is much younger than Venus Williams and her recovery time may be superior at this stage of their careers.

Even then, Venus Williams is the right favourite in this Second Round match. Her grass court pedigree has to be respected and it also has to be said that Wang has yet to show a real affinity with the surface. While having a good win in the First Round, Qiang Wang has struggled with her return on the grass and now she has to face a solid server like Williams on a surface where she may not feel her best.

These two actually met at Wimbledon a couple of years ago and it was Williams who came through after they split two tough sets to start. When you combine their three previous matches, Williams has had the better of the service numbers and I do think that is going to be the difference between them on the day too.

It won't be an easy match for Venus Williams considering how much Qiang Wang can get out of her own serve when at her best. However we have yet to see Wang put it all together on the grass and I think that makes the former Wimbledon Champion the selection to win and cover the number.

MY PICKS: Steve Johnson-Alexander Zverev Over 22.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Roger Federer-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Over 22.5 Games @ 1.70 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Angelique Kerber - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Venus Williams - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (2 Units)
Naomi Osaka - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Belinda Bencic - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Marin Cilic - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Kevin Anderson - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (2 Units)
Lucas Pouille @ 2.75 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 20-6, + 25.32 Units (52 Units Staked, + 48.69% Yield)