Fresh off her first final appearance at a WTA event this year in Miami, World No. 3 Coco Gauff is set to begin her European claycourt swing against Liudmila Samsonova in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix round of 16 in Stuttgart on Thursday.
Meanwhile, French teenage sensation Arthur Fils has advanced to the Barcelona Open round of 16, where he will face Brandon Nakashima on Thursday. These are just two of many games from the ongoing ATP and WTA events, as we bring you the best bets, predictions, and tennis picks from today’s exciting matches.
Tennis Picks and Best Bets For Today’s Matches
Coco Gauff vs. Liudmila Samsonova: Total Games Under 19.5 (-118)
This will be the fourth meeting on tour between Gauff and Smasonova. The 22-year-old American leads the head-to-head battle against the Russian 3-0, with all three meetings coming on different surfaces. While their first two meetings in 2019 and 2021 went to three sets, their most recent meeting in 2023 was a straight-set affair, with Gauff winning 6-3, 6-3.
The two-time Grand Slam champion has strong momentum on her side and has previously flourished on clay. Therefore, it should be a pretty one-sided match, and Gauff should win in straight sets and advance to the quarterfinals, registering multiple breaks of serve in both sets.
Arthur Fils vs. Brandon Nakashima: Total Games Over 22.5 (-110)
This will be the fourth meeting on tour between Fils and Nakashima, as both aim to make a deep run in Barcelona. Nakashima leads the Lexus ATP head-to-head against Fils, 2-1, with one of those meetings coming on clay at the 2023 Lyon Open, where the Frenchman prevailed in three sets.
Nakashima had reached the Brisbane International final, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev. In contrast, Fils had reached the final in Doha, Qatar, but failed to put up a fight against Carlos Alcaraz.
All three of their previous meetings have produced more than 22 games in total, and we don’t see why that streak shouldn’t continue today. Expect a feisty three-setter between the duo, with Fils taking the hard-fought win and advancing to the next round.
Alycia Parks vs. Mirra Andreeva: Total Games Over 18.5 (+100)
This is going to be a bold pick from our end, as although we predict Mirra Andreeva to win the tie, Alycia Parks should cause some trouble for the teenager today. The Russian leads the head-to-head battle against Parks 1-0, with their previous meeting coming in the opening round of last year’s US Open.
Andreeva, fresh from her Linz Open title, was made to fight hard to seal a come-from-behind win against defending champion Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round at Stuttgart.
While the momentum is on the Russians’ side, Parks has shown streaks of brilliance in previous events this season, which is why we predict she will win at least three games in at least two sets today.
Denis Shapovalov vs. Fabian Marozsan: Total 9-10 Games in Set 1 (-120)
This will be the first meeting on tour between Denis Shapovalov and Fabian Marozsan. Both players are coming off three-set victories in their opening rounds at the BMW Open in Munich. While our predictions lean towards the Hungarian notching up another three-setter win in Munich, the first set should finish 6-3 or 6-4 in favor of either player.
Marozsan has played six matches on clay so far this season, with four of them producing 9-10 games in the opening sets. Similarly, Shapovalov’s two clay-court matches this season have featured exactly 10 games in the opening set. Thereby, our pick is a safe bet to wager on for this feisty contest today.
Leylah Fernandez vs. Zeynep Sonmez: Sonmez Match Winner (+130)
This will be the first meeting on tour between Leylah Fernandez and Zeynep Sonmez. Fernandez defeated Alexandra Eala in straight sets in the opening round, while the 23-year-old Turk caused a major upset by defeating Jasmine Paolini in her Stuttgart opener.
The Stuttgart Open is Sonmez’s first event on the clay surface this season, while Fernandez has already played at one on Charleston, where she was knocked out in the round of 16.
While on paper, the Canadian seems to have a better chance of winning the tie, we are ready to ride in a different direction and make the bold claim that Sonmez will beat Fernandez tonight in three sets to extend her run in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
*All bets and wagers sourced from BetMGM
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