Tennis Picks 2022 (June 17th)

The last few days have been incredibly frustrating with at least one selection a day finding a way to lose a match they should have won.

It has meant a tough set of results being returned, especially when adding in some poor selections.

Things would have looked a lot different with those close calls going my way, but it is how it goes sometimes and there isn't much you can aside from sticking with the process.

Felix Auger-Aliassime - 1.5 games v Hubert Hurkacz: Over the last couple of years, Felix Auger-Aliassime has begun to make more of an impact on the ATP Tour, although I think he has joined up with Toni Nadal to try and bring a little more consistency to his game. He is young, and that is a factor, but losing concentration within matches makes progress through the early Rounds of any tournament a little more haphazard and could potentially mean Felix Auger-Aliassime is not able to produce the energy he needs to really rack up the tournament wins.

An all-around game has been developed by the Canadian and it has pushed him into the top ten of the World Rankings for the first time earlier this season.

Even now, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be heading into Wimbledon as one of the top Seeds and he has shown a very good game that is well suited to the grass courts throughout his career.

He has yet to win a title on the surface, but Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the Quarter Final in Wimbledon and he has made it through to the Semi Final at least in all five warm up events he has ever played on the grass courts. A win on Friday will keep that run going and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be confident even though he is facing an opponent who reached the Wimbledon Semi Final last season.

Hubert Hurkacz has a serve that should be a big weapon on the grass courts and he has always held a very high percentage of service games played on the surface. However, the World Number 12 has regularly struggled when it comes to the return and he has only broken in 11% of return games played on the grass this season.

That is a number that is perhaps lower than expected, but even in his run to the Wimbledon Semi Final, Hubert Hurkacz broke in 20% of his return games played in the tournament. Overall his return numbers need work on this surface and it does put some pressure on him to make sure he serves well and ultimately may be the reason he has a relatively poor win-loss record on the grass, especially taking away that run last year.

Two solid wins in Halle will have given Hubert Hurkacz confidence, but this has not been a great match up for him having lost both previous matches against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Polish player has yet to break the Felix Auger-Aliassime serve, although it should be noted that both matches were competitive and they have earned the same number of break points across those. A slight edge has been with the Canadian's return game, while has shown a bit more consistency on the return on grass courts in general compared with Hubert Hurkacz.

Last year they met in the First Round here in Halle and it resulted in a straight sets win for Felix Auger-Aliassime and I think he can match that in this Quarter Final.

Nick Kyrgios - 3.5 games v Pablo Carreno Busta: There will always be a lot of talk about the danger that Andy Murray will pose at Wimbledon having only just missed out on a Seed, but Nick Kyrgios is going to be right next to the former Champion as the unseeded player that none of the top players will want to face early in the tournament.

The Australian looks much happier in his personal life and that has been seen with a more focused approach to his tennis, although Nick Kyrgios is never that far away from having an argument with the umpire or the crowd.

It makes him a character that is going to be much followed throughout his career, but a focused Nick Kyrgios is a very dangerous opponent and has long shown an affinity with the grass courts. He played some strong tennis to reach the Semi Final in Stuttgart last week before being undone by Andy Murray, and Nick Kyrgios has headed to Halle with confidence that has shown up in his two solid wins here.

Beating Stefanos Tsitsipas from a set behind showed some of the new maturity from Kyrgios which has added to a strong game and he is going to be a big favourite to beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

While most will associate players from Spain with the clay courts, Pablo Carreno Busta has had plenty of success on the hard courts in his career and putting two wins on the board in Halle means he deserves plenty of respect. In reality, the grass has perhaps not been his favoured surface and Pablo Carreno Busta may also have taken advantage of what has looked a pretty kind draw, but this is anything but that.

The Pablo Carreno Busta career numbers on the grass shows that his serve can be a little vulnerable on the surface, but the real problem has been having difficulty getting to grips with how to return. In the two wins this week, Pablo Carreno Busta has been serving pretty well though with 83% of his games being held, but he has also backed that up with breaks in 18% of return games to just edge his way through to this Quarter Final.

My feeling is that it will be much tougher to get into the Nick Kyrgios service games, while there has been an improvement on the return this week as the big points have been played well.

Nick Kyrgios is still a slightly underwhelming return player, but he may feel he can get into more of the Carreno Busta service games. In their two previous matches, Kyrgios has been able to do that by winning 40% of return points played and I do think the more natural grass player of the two will be able to come through with a win and a cover.

Marin Cilic - 2.5 games v Emil Ruusuvuori: The late finish on Wednesday could have an impact on the veteran Marin Cilic in this Quarter Final, but he is very adept at playing on the grass courts and as a former Champion at Queens Club, I am not expecting too many issues in recovery time.

The bigger issue may be facing a very competent opponent in Emil Ruusuvuori who has come through the Qualifiers and won a couple of matches in the main draw. The win over Feliciano Lopez in the Second Qualifying Round means Emil Ruusuvuori is already used to beating former Champions here, although the rest of the draw has worked out pretty well for him.

This is a marked step up in terms of level of opponent too- Feliciano Lopez is very comfortable on the grass courts, but he is very much in the twilight of his career, while Marin Cilic is coming off a run to the French Open Semi Final on what is his weakest surface. The Croatian is a former Finalist at Wimbledon and the grass is a surface that he has always enjoyed having ten matches on it last year.

Marin Cilic has won his two matches in Queens behind an impressive serve and you may even have expected him to have a higher hold percentage than the 88% mark put together when you consider he has won 72% of points behind that shot. I expect that to be a key part of his tennis in the very hot conditions expected in London on Friday, while Marin Cilic has backed that up by breaking his first two opponents at least twice.

We know how experienced Marin Cilic is on the grass, but that is not the same for Emil Ruusuvuori who is enjoying this week. More than half of his career wins on the grass have been earned over the last week, while the Ruusuvuori serve has been working really well on the grass in the two tournaments has competed in over the last couple of weeks.

However, it has to be accepted that some of those numbers can be easily skewed by one or two really strong performances and I think that is the case for the Finnish player. I do think there is a proper player in Emil Ruusuvuori and one we will see competing in big tournaments throughout his career, but he was well beaten by Ilya Ivashka last week in Hertogenbosch and I do think the grass court nous of Marin Cilic is a huge challenge to face.

Both will be reliant on their serves, but the feeling is that Marin Cilic could find one or two more openings in this Quarter Final and that can see him edge to the cover in a tight win. The win over Lopez will give Emil Ruusuvuori belief in his tennis, but Marin Cilic is still playing at a really high level and that can see him play the big points efficiently to move through to another Semi Final on this surface at Queens Club.

MY PICKS: Felix Auger-Aliassime - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Nick Kyrgios - 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Oscar Otte-Karen Khachanov Over 23.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Daniil Medvedev - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Marin Cilic - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Filip Krajinovic - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Donna Vekic @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Simona Halep - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Shuai Zhang @ 2.30 Bet365 (2 Units)

Veronika Kudermetova @ 2.25 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Ons Jabeur - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 16-19, - 10.56 Units (70 Units Staked, - 15.09% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2022 (June 16th)

This has largely been a week of disappointment for the Tennis Picks, but we have only just moved past the middle of the events being played and there is still an opportunity for a strong finish.

We are going to have the Quarter Final line ups completed for all four tournaments by the end of Thursday and there are some tough conditions to deal with as the weather heats up. Most of the matches are scheduled for the hottest part of the day, which increases the challenges for the players going onto court, but there are big prizes on offer and that should be motivation enough for all still involved.

Ryan Peniston - 1.5 games v Francisco Cerundolo: We have become so accustomed to young players joining the Tour that the American College route is still considered a unique approach to joining the Tour.

Cameron Norrie and John Isner are two players who have shown it is not a bad approach having felt the College scene hardened them to playing pro tennis in a competitive environment, but one in which they were not having to suffer loss after loss to dent the confidence of a young player.

The latest to head to the Tour after playing College Tennis is Ryan Peniston and the British player upset Casper Ruud in the First Round at Queens, although it was not the seismic upset that the commentators would have you believe. Instead he showcased strong character to just keep Casper Ruud at bay and a serve that can make Ryan Peniston an effective grass court player.

Backing up the win of his career is always the big challenge for players, but I don't think Ryan Peniston could have asked for a better opponent. While the British player has produced a solid 5-2 record on the grass courts this season, Francisco Cerundolo is playing in just his fifth ever grass court match having come up short in trying to Qualify for Wimbledon in 2021 and then beating Pedro Martinez in the First Round.

I am not sure how much you can read into those limited grass court appearances- beating an opponent who does not have a lot of grass court expectations in the First Round was taking advantage of a kind draw and Francisco Cerundolo has to expect a much greater challenge in the Second Round.

So much feels like it will be on Ryan Peniston's racquet who has a lefty serve that can be very efficient on this surface. In 2022, Ryan Peniston has held 86% of his service games played and I do think that will put pressure on someone like Francisco Cerundolo still learning his way on the grass.

Wins over Adrian Mannarino, Jack Draper and Jiri Vesely is very solid grass court form for Ryan Peniston and I think this is a very winnable match as long as he has not become overwhelmed by the attention the win over Casper Ruud will have given him. His return does need to be improved if Ryan Peniston is going to really charge up the World Rankings, but Francisco Cerundolo does not possess the biggest of serves and I think the British player can move through to the Quarter Final.

Sam Querrey - 1.5 games v Filip Krajinovic: It has been a long time since I have backed Sam Querrey to win a match, but the big serving American is enjoying his time on the grass courts since arriving in Europe and the form is hard to ignore in a Second Round match like this one.

That is probably a touch disrespectful to Filip Krajinovic who upset Jenson Brooksby in the First Round, but he now faces an American opponent with a lot more grass court experience than the one he has beaten. It was also a first win on the grass courts for a number of years and Filip Krajinovic has become a player that tends to pick up his cheque at Wimbledon and then move onto other events.

Again that may sound disrespectful, but his results have suggested that in recent years with little grass court experience being built before heading to Wimbledon. That indicates he doesn't enjoy playing on the surface, although Filip Krajinovic may feel the win in the First Round is the turnaround he needs.

He did not play as well as he would have liked and will have to serve a lot better if Filip Krajinovic is going to surprisingly reach the Quarter Final at Queens Club. The Serb did hold 80% of his service games played against Jenson Brooksby, but he only won 58% of his service points and the young American had plenty of chances to make that a much more competitive match.

Sam Querrey is not exactly known for his returning prowess, but he has broken in 22% of the return games played on the grass in his eight matches on the surface in 2022. That number is impressive enough when you think Querrey has held 96% of his service games played and he is a former Champion at this event.

The big server has won three matches to reach the Second Round and I do think Sam Querrey's ability to roll through some service games will be very key to the outcome of the match in what are likely to be hot conditions in London. Putting mental pressure on an opponent to have to work to hold serve can wear on players and I do think Sam Querrey's grass court experiences will be another factor giving him the edge in the match.

Filip Krajinovic has beaten Sam Querrey on an indoor hard court before and the grass in Queens is not playing as fast as some of the players have hoped, but the bigger serve of the American can set up shorter points and I think he can win and cover on his way to another Quarter Final in this part of West London.

Matteo Berrettini - 3.5 games v Denis Kudla: The conditions are considered slow by the players who have already been out on the court and the balls are heavier than they are used to, but for Matteo Berrettini it doesn't seem to make the slightest bit of difference.

After winning the title in Stuttgart, the defending Champion got the better of Daniel Evans in the First Round at Queens and has seen many of the top names already departing the tournament. Once again, Matteo Berrettini will be considered the favourite to win another grass court event and he has certainly become one of the best players on the Tour when it comes to this surface.

The serve is a massive weapon for Matteo Berrettini, but he also tends to get a huge amount of first serves in play and that makes it very difficult to break him. He did have to face off seven break points in the win over Daniel Evans, so there is some encouragement for his opponents, but Matteo Berrettini is playing with complete confidence on the surface and will feel his serve is one that puts a lot of mental strain on the opponent.

The latest to try and face up to the Berrettini serve is a player who has taken advantage of Andy Murray's withdrawal from the tournament and Denis Kudla holds one win over an Italian at Queens Club this year. He needed three sets to beat Lorenzo Sonego having entered the main draw as a Lucky Loser, while the American reached the Final of a grass court Challenger played in Surbiton already this season.

Denis Kudla has always had a pretty good grass court record and has produced plenty of wins on the surface throughout his career, and he has a 7-14 record against top 50 Ranked players on the surface. While not the most impressive, it is solid enough for a player who has never made the top 50 of the World Rankings in his own career.

The American has held 82% of his service games on the grass this season and Denis Kudla has held 75% of his service games against the top 50 Ranked players faced on the surface. That is a number that will be encouraging for Kudla as he bids to face Matteo Berrettini, but their sole previous meeting on a grass court ended in a routine win for the latter in 2019.

With the conditions as they are, Matteo Berrettini may feel he can take a few more swings on the return of serve than he might expect on the grass and I think his own serve will put Denis Kudla under an immense amount of pressure. The Italian is much improved since these two last met on the Tour in 2019 and even in the three matches in that season, Matteo Berrettini held 94% of his service games compared with Denis Kudla's 77% mark.

I think Matteo Berrettini should be well rested after winning the title in Stuttgart last week and playing one match since Sunday. It should mean another big serving day can be produced and I expect Denis Kudla to play one or two loose service games that gives Matteo Berrettini the chance to pull clear for a solid win.

MY PICKS: Ryan Peniston - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Sam Querrey - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Matteo Berrettini - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Stan Wawrinka @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)

Ons Jabeur - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Liudmila Samsonova @ 2.25 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Shuai Zhang @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)

Laslo Djere + 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Daniil Medvedev-Ilya Ivashka Over 21.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 11-13, - 7.56 Units (48 Units Staked, - 15.75% 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 14th)

It's never an easy day when the player you've picked is up in a strong position and the opponent retires from the match, especially when the little moments have gone against you for much of the day.

At least a late winning Pick helped avoid a disastrous start to the week, although I do have work to do after the first day at the tournaments being played on the grass courts. I had a tough moment or two last week, but managed to turn that around so there is still some positive momentum to build upon before Wimbledon begins.

Jenson Brooksby - 2.5 games v Filip Krajinovic: There is limited grass court experience behind him, but reaching the Final in Newport last season is a positive for Jenson Brooksby to take into this month of the Tour. He was disappointingly dumped out of the tournament in Hertogenbosch in the Second Round last week as Brooksby made his 2022 debut on the surface, but the build towards Wimbledon will continue in London this week.

The young American is considered to be one of the brightest talents from the country on the ATP Tour side of the sport, and Jenson Brooksby is up at a career high World Ranking. With no points to defend before Wimbledon, there is every chance that career high will be further improved before the return to the North American hard courts.

Much of that will depend on how many wins he can pick up between now and the end of July and Jenson Brooksby is the favourite in this First Round match in London despite the early defeat last week. He will be the first to admit that he needs to be a little more convincing behind the serve, but Jenson Brooksby did return well in Hertogenbosch and I think that gives him a real chance of winning this match.

It also helps he is facing Filip Krajinovic who has not won a grass court match since a Qualifier in Nottingham all the way back in 2015.

In recent years, Filip Krajinovic has only turned up at Wimbledon and lost in the First Round in each of his last three matches there, while he was a First Qualifying Round loser in the year before this streak begun. You have to respect the effectiveness of the serve on the grass courts, but Filip Krajinovic has not gotten to grips with the return of serve and I do think that will see this match lean towards the young American.

You would like to see Jenson Brooksby serve well to keep his opponent contained, but he should have more joy against the returning Filip Krajinovic will bring to the court. With a strong couple of matches returning serve last week, I think Brooksby will have his moments to break the Serb's serve in this one and I think Jenson Brooksby moves through to the Second Round behind a solid win.

Emil Ruusuvuori - 2.5 games v Quentin Halys: Any player that can come through the Qualifiers has to be respected considering they have two wins behind them and will be plenty familiar with the conditions at the tournament.

However, any edge to either of these players is negated by the fact that the opponent has also won a couple of Qualifiers here and I have to give the edge to Emil Ruusuvuori.

The younger player was beaten in the Second Round in Hertogenbosch last week, but Emil Ruusuvuori's game looks well suited to the grass courts. His serve has been effective with 87% of games held on the surface in his matches so far in 2022, and that has backed up the 83% effort from last season, while Emil Ruusuvuori has won 39% of return points on a difficult surface.

Quentin Halys has been serving really well in his four grass court matches in 2022, but he is operating at a level we have not seen from him before and I am wondering if it is sustainable. The serve has been effective for the Frenchman in his career on the grass courts, but his return game has usually been a hindrance and I am not sure he can maintain the 27% number of returning games ending with a break for the entirety of the grass court season.

The career number is down at 12% and I do think Emil Ruusuvuori has a higher ceiling than Quentin Halys and he can show that here.

Both will feel they can serve their way out of trouble, but I will look for the more consistent level that Emil Ruusuvuori can produce to show up on the return of serve.

The two players will be confident with the Qualifying wins behind them, but I will look for the Finnish player to back that up and cover this spread on the way through.

Matteo Berrettini - 2.5 games v Dan Evans: There was some initial rustiness in his performance in Stuttgart, but the return to grass court tennis suited Matteo Berrettini down to the ground as he won another title on the surface.

Most impressive is that he won that title after missing the entire clay court season with an injury and he will head to London to defend the Queens title he won in 2021. It won't be easy with the limited time to recover from the exploits of winning the title in Stuttgart, but the Italian will have good memories of playing here and his opponent will also have some residue fatigue to deal with.

Daniel Evans won the Challenger event played in Nottingham last week as he got his grass court campaign underway and that means he has had little rest between tournaments too. Of course his travel to London will be different compared with Matteo Berrettini's from another country, but I don't think professional tennis players are unfamiliar with having to cope and Berrettini will be arriving with plenty of confidence.

His serve is a mighty weapon on the grass courts and he can get himself out of tough spots, while Matteo Berrettini is able to free up and attack return games with some of the pressure taken off by the power of the serve. Over the last twelve months, Matteo Berrettini has produced a 15-1 record on the grass courts and has been able to hold 93% of his service games played, while he was able to hold 94% of service games payed in Stuttgart on his way to the title there.

It puts a huge amount of pressure on Daniel Evans, although the British player has a surprisingly efficient serve on the grass courts.

Over the last twelve months, Evans has held 90% of his service games played with 66% of service points won, while he does have the edge when it comes to the returning numbers.

However, the numbers come down pretty significantly on both the serve and return when only looking at Daniel Evans' performances against top 50 Ranked opponents in the last twelve months. And against someone like Matteo Berrettini, Daniel Evans has the additional pressure on knowing any drop in serve likely means the end of the set against a power server like the Italian.

Experience will tell Daniel Evans that too having been beaten by Matteo Berrettini at this tournament twelve months ago.

The Quarter Final between them was competitive, but Matteo Berrettini's serve proved to be the big difference with 75% of service points won compared with Daniel Evans' mark of 66%. It led to the former finding nine break point chances compared with Evans' two break point opportunities and I do think the Stuttgart Champion and defending Champion here will be able to get his defence off to a promising start.

MY PICKS: Jenson Brooksby - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Emil Ruusuvuori - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Matteo Berrettini - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Felix Auger-Aliassime - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Sebastian Korda - 3.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Hubert Hurkacz-Maxime Cressy Over 23.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Shelby Rogers - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Dayana Yastremska - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Elise Mertens - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Petra Kvitova - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Liudmila Samsonova - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Weekly Update: 1-3, - 4.56 Units (8 Units Staked, - 57% 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 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)

Boxing Picks 2022- Trevor Bryan vs Daniel Dubois (June 11th)

There are moments in any sporting event you may watch where you feel you are seeing something truly special.

Naoya Inoue's crushing victory over Nonito Donaire was one of those moments and The Monster has moved to the top of many pound for pound lists released in the last few days.

It is a win that will hopefully give UK fans the chance to see Inoue in the flesh again with the final Belt between him and Undisputed in the Bantamweight Division being held by Paul Butler from Liverpool. Naoya Inoue would be a monster favourite to win that fight, pardon the pun, and it should be a fight that can be put together pretty easily with promoters in Great Britain likely to be falling over one another to get this one over the line.

However, Japanese and Middle East venues may also step forward to host the Undisputed fight and I do think there is every chance we could see that in September or October before Naoya Inoue looks to move up a Division and challenge himself further.

The Tuesday showing was a weird one, but it did give Naoya Inoue the sole platform to earn the boxing headlines.

On Saturday multiple fighters will be looking to do the same with a number of cards in the United Kingdom and the United States that will be of interest. Some big names are in action, while we could see the continued development of a couple of solid prospects that will be pushing to get into World Title bids within the next twelve to eighteen months.

It will be a busy day of Boxing over several hours and you can read my thoughts below.

Richard Riakporhe vs Fabio Turchi

You have to credit the kind of development the Richard Riakporhe backers have put together for their man and he continues to step up and impress.

He may only have fourteen professional fights under his belt, but Richard Riakporhe has some solid wins in that time and I expect he will have too much for Italian Fabio Turchi who looked to have been exposed in an upset loss to Tommy McCarthy.

The sole defeat suffered by Turchi may have come on a Split Decision, but anyone who watched the fight will have felt that Tommy McCarthy should have been a clear winner. Fabio Turchi looked a little one-paced and he has had three relatively low level wins since that defeat to McCarthy as he looks to rebuild.

Now he has to take on the power of Richard Riakporhe who is just putting some momentum behind a career that had been stalled by injury. At 32 years old, Riakporhe may feel his time is now to make a statement in the Cruiserweight Division and a win in a bout like this one should only improve his Ranking as he gets closer to the top names.

He may have to show some patience in this one against a hardened opponent, but I do think Richard Riakporhe has shown his power can carry in a fight.

I can see him just breaking down Fabio Turchi and wearing him down and Richard Riakporhe may have the power to get him out of there. On the comeback trail, Riakporhe has gone at least Eight Rounds in two of the three fights he has had and I think the British fighter will need to use his boxing to set up the power shots.

This may mean looking for openings as the Rounds tick on and Fabio Turchi tires and I do think Richard Riakporhe is going to be able to land something very big after halfway and that will be the beginning of the end of the Italian fighter. A Stoppage in and around the Championship Rounds would make the statement Richard Riakporhe will be looking for before taking on another step up in class in a few months time.

There are plenty of fights on the undercard of this televised card, but the focus is on Zak Chelli who takes on unbeaten Germaine Brown for the English Super Middleweight Title.

The Londoner has been a touch unfortunate to not have an even stronger record than his 11-1-1 resume and Zak Chelli impressed in his win over Jack Kilgannon in early April. He wants to be more active and I do think Chelli has the toughness and the experience to beat an opponent who is stepping up a level.

Germaine Brown will be confident as an unbeaten fighter would be, while he does have a couple of solid wins behind him. I am just not sure he has the pop to keep Chelli from pressing forward and this is a big opportunity for Zak Chelli to try and get his career moving in a direction he believes he deserves.

We also have another card in the United Kingdom on the same night and that one in Telford is headed by the main event of Marc Leach versus Liam Davies.

That should be a good one, but the sole selection I have from that card is backing a returning Willy Hutchinson to record an early win.

An upset loss to Lennox Clarke in March 2021 was a major setback for the Scot and he has not fought since then, but returns on the undercard in Telford and I expect him to make short work of Karel Horejsek.

This is a fighter that hits hard very early on and Karek Horejsek may not have the durability at 40 years old as he once did. He has only been stopped twice in thirteen losses, but Willy Hutchinson will want to remove any negative memories of his last appearance in the ring as soon as possible and could close the show before we reach halfway in a scheduled Eight Rounder.

Trevor Bryan vs Daniel Dubois

Forget the WBA 'World Title' that these two are fighting for and instead focus on the fact that the winner could be in line to be the first contender to face either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk depending on the outcome of the rematch that is rumoured to be taking place in August.

I have been pretty high on Daniel Dubois and I am not going to be too harsh on him for the loss to Joe Joyce. He looked like he could have won that fight on the cards if not for a devastating orbital bone injury, but Dubois has bounced back pretty effectively since then.

Daniel Dubois has needed a total of Three Rounds to win his last two fights since the defeat to Joe Joyce and he is a huge favourite to beat Trevor Bryan on his home soil.

Trevor Bryan picked up this WBA 'Title' by beating Bermane Stiverne after Manuel Charr had been stripped of the Belt. He needed Eleven Rounds to beat Stiverne and then won a Split Decision over Jonathan Guidry, but this feels another step up and I do think Trevor Bryan has the same kind of feeling as Charles Martin did before his fight with Anthony Joshua.

The American is saying all the right things, but he has largely been inactive in recent years and Trevor Bryan will have to deal with a power he has simply not had to face before.

I don't think Bryan will have the movement to get away from Daniel Dubois and one of the more vicious punchers coming up has regularly blown through opponents very early. This feels like it could go the same way and I will back Daniel Dubois to bring this Belt back to Britain before chasing bigger fights.

He could potentially get this done very early too and I will back Dubois to make this a good nights work.

We have a couple of other cards in the United States that will be starting a little while after the Daniel Dubois bid to win a Title has concluded.

It isn't that long ago that Jaime Munguia would have been the star name of any night, but recent bouts have been underwhelming. The continued decisions to avoid taking an Eliminator for a World Title fight is confusing to say the least, while he has now decided to take this fight at Super Middleweight.

His power continues to be a factor even when moving up in weight, but it is hard to really judge Munguia when he continues to face overmatched opponents.

Next up is Jimmy Kelly who has lost his biggest fights against Liam Smith and Dennis Hogan, two opponents that Jaime Munguia did beat.

Jimmy Kelly showed enough resistance to believe he can give Jaime Munguia some Rounds, but the power of the latter should break that resistance at some point in the middle of this bout.

Getting through the early Rounds will be challenging, but I think Kelly can just about hang on before it all gets a bit too much and Jaime Munguia is able to stop another overmatched opponent.

On the undercard, Oscar Jurado can continue his streak of stoppages since his sole defeat.

He is facing an opponent who was stopped in Three Rounds and who has lost three of his five defeats inside the distance. Another early night could be on the cards for Jurado.

Finally we have Edgar Berlanga back in the ring as he main events again.

There have been some serious criticisms of Berlanga since his Knock Out streak ended and his last three fights have all gone the distance. The power is real, but Edgar Berlanga has struggled when opponents have offered up some resistance and I expect that from Alexis Angulo.

The Colombian completed Ten Rounds against David Benavidez before being pulled out, and Angulo also went the full Twelve Rounds with Gilberto Ramirez.

He should be able to show enough veteran experience to get to the cards in this one, which is scheduled for Ten Rounds, and I do think Angulo will stand in front of Edgar Berlanga to at least give the younger fighter a chance to at least flash some talent in a clear win.

Edgar Berlanga has been more active than Alexis Angulo and that can also help, but he may have to wait a little longer before he can get back to winning fights the early way.

MY PICKS: Richard Riakporhe to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Zak Chelli to Win @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)

Willy Hutchinson to Win Between 1-4 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Daniel Dubois to Win Between 1-3 @ 2.40 Bet365 (2 Units)

Jaime Munguia to Win Between 4-6 @ 2.62 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Oscar Jurado to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.10 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Edgar Berlanga to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.50 Bet365 (2 Units)

Boxing 2022 Update: 20-33, + 15.80 Units (95 Units Staked, + 16.63% Yield)