The ATP and WTA Tours are shifting surfaces and picking up speed. We’re just a few weeks away from the start of Wimbledon, and the grass-court swing is officially underway — with four tournaments running simultaneously this week to give players time to find their form on the green stuff. On the men’s side, the field splits between the 500s in Queen’s Club (London) and Halle (Germany). Meanwhile, the women are competing in either the 500 in Berlin or the 250 in Nottingham. With that in mind, we have plenty of ground to cover over the next several 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 for the weekend finals. That said, keep reading for my tennis best bets for Tuesday, June 16.
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.
Hubert Hurkacz vs. Andrey Rublev – Halle
Embed from Getty ImagesOver the last five years, Hurkacz has a TennisViz Serve Quality of 9.0 when playing on grass. Meanwhile, Rublev’s Serve Quality in that same span is 8.4 on this surface, and something tells me that won’t be good enough in this specific matchup. There’s a lot that Rublev does better on a tennis court than Hurkacz, but the Pole is built to win points in way easier fashion. Whether he’s serving up unreturnables, or coming to the net to put soft returns away with his serve-and-volley game, Hurkacz should run through his service games. He should also have the edge in any tiebreakers they play.
Hurkacz also happens to be 4-2 against Rublev in his career, and he has won two straight against the Russian. It’s clear this matchup gives Rublev some problems, and this will be their first ever meeting on grass. Well, given what we have seen in this matchup, give me Hurkacz on his favorite surface.
Bet: Hurkacz ML (-110)
Vit Kopriva vs. Alexander Zverev – Halle
Zverev is coming off the first Grand Slam title of his career. Without Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz healthy, it’s clear the German is the best player on tour at the moment. However, Zverev’s 65.2% winning percentage on grass also happens to be the lowest he has on any surface. You also have to question what his motivation level will be moving forward. Winning a major was the one thing Zverev needed to do to validate his career. Now that he finally banked one, there’s a chance he checks out a bit in the coming months.
Kopriva has never won an ATP-level grass-court match, so that’s something to know heading into this one. However, as long as he has a decent day as a server, he should be able to keep this somewhat close. I’ll also say this: Kopriva has a very good backhand. That’ll be an asset as he goes backhand-to-backhand with Zverev, who has one of the best two-handers on tour.
Bet: Kopriva +5.5 Games (-123)
Cameron Norrie vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Queen’s Club
Davidovich Fokina is just 13-13 this season and his form has been lousy lately. Now, the Spaniard transitions to the grass, where he is just 11-14 at the ATP level. He’s also coming off a bad loss to Mattia Bellucci in Stuttgart last week, suggesting he hasn’t exactly turned things around on the surface just yet.
With Davidovich Fokina having struggled on this surface throughout his career, it’s hard not to like Norrie to beat him. The Brit is 26-23 on grass in his career, and he’ll have the crowd in his corner. That should really help the southpaw find a way into the winner’s circle.
Of course, Norrie has never defeated Davidovich Fokina before. But they have never met on grass. They also haven’t clashed since 2021. As long as Norrie’s form isn’t disastrous after having retired from his opening-round match at Roland Garros, he should grind himself to a win here.
Bet: Norrie ML (+123 – 1.5 units)
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.
Tennis Links
Gill Alexander’s Beating The Book Podcast
The post Tennis Best Bets: Picks and predictions for Tuesday, June 16 appeared first on VSiN.
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