Tennis Best Bets: Picks and predictions for Friday, February 13

The ATP and WTA Tours are currently in full swing, as the women are playing a 1000-level event in Doha and the men are competing in 500-level tournaments in Rotterdam, Buenos Aires, and Dallas. With that in mind, we have a lot to cover over the next couple of days. I’ll be writing up my tennis best bets from Monday to Friday, then I’ll post my championship picks on the VSiN Pro Picks page on Sunday. That said, keep reading for my tennis best bets for Friday, February 13.

NOTE: Gill Alexander, host of A Numbers Game, posts a bunch of tennis plays to the VSiN picks page. He does a great job handicapping tennis. That page is also where I post all of my Challenger-level picks + plays for all of the tournaments I’m not writing up daily.

Alejandro Tabilo vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry – Buenos Aires

Tabilo’s win over Joao Fonseca was really impressive, as it wasn’t a no-show from the Brazilian. In fact, Fonseca played a fantastic second set, and Tabilo completely halted his momentum in the third. Now, it’s hard not to like Tabilo as a plus-money play against Etcheverry, who brings another combination of a big serve and forehand. However, Etcheverry isn’t quite as explosive as Fonseca, and the Argentinean has a losing record on clay over the last 52 weeks.

I just don’t think it’s smart to rule out the possibility of Tabilo backing up the win last round. As long as he continues to serve well, he should at least have his chances here, which makes him worthy of a play at +132.

Tabilo’s big lefty forehand going into the Etcheverry backhand is something to watch here. He’ll be going cross court into Etcheverry’s weaker wing, either forcing errors or moving the Argentinean off the court. That’ll set up opportunities to rip winners the other way, or go to the drop shot. Also, Tabilo is sturdy enough mentally to be able to handle the Argentinean crowd pulling for Etcheverry.

Bet: Tabilo ML (+132)

Sebastian Korda vs. Taylor Fritz – Dallas

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Fritz has been dealing with a bunch of injuries to start the year, as he’s managing knee tendinitis while also suffering through oblique pain. That definitely has something to do with his struggles to start the year. This week, Fritz had to dig deep to gut out a win over Marcos Giron, and that was one you’d expect him to win somewhat comfortably. Fortunately, he did bounce back and earn a convincing win over Brandon Nakashima his next time out. However, with Fritz playing at less than 100%, it’s hard not to like Korda as a plus-money dart throw.

Korda had some shaky moments in the first set of his win over Frances Tiafoe last match, but he displayed some real mental toughness in digging in from a break down to emerge with the opener. Then, in Set 2, Korda played some impeccable tennis, finishing with a Performance Rating of 9.11 at TennisViz — which was actually only a little higher than his 8.51 score in Set 1. Korda was playing some aggressive tennis against Tiafoe, and he was converting at an extremely high rate. His forehand was also an absolute weapon in the match, and he was dialed in as a server and returner.

With Korda playing at his peak level, I just can’t help but think this will be somewhat close. He runs extremely hot and cold, but he’s a good player to back when he’s going good — especially at this price.

Bet: Korda ML (+156)

Added Plays

I usually have A LOT MORE on the Pro Picks page. Those plays count towards my record and have been a big part of my success this season. Make sure you check them out. I’ll probably add a few more over there, so refresh that page throughout the day if you’re looking for action.