tadley

Tien is a rising star in the game who had an impressive 2025. However, he has played an awful lot of tennis and looked off his best at the start of this year. Giron has impressed this year with 6 wins from 8. There is little between them in my opinion, but Giron, in better form with a 3.5 start, looks the bet.

Vacherot has shot up the rankings from 140 in 2024 to 31 last year. He has won 16 of his last 21 matches, with the defeats being to top players: Rublev, Davidovich-Fokina, Korda, Auger-Aliassime, and Fritz. World number 177 Damm is unlikely to upset him.

Spain are showing the better form with two wins out of two, whereas Germany had an upset loss to Serbia by three. It may have been just a bad day at the office for them. But on the evidence of this year, Spain are looking stronger.

The earlier meeting this season resulted in both teams scoring, as did the two games last season. Bournemouth come into this game with their last six games, plus the FA Cup game, resulting in both teams scoring. Those seven games averaged just under five goals a game, so I see no shortage of goals in this one. Seventy percent of Brighton's home games end with both teams scoring, and 80% of Bournemouth's away games do as well.

Elche have impressed this season, with last week's loss to Villarreal being their first home defeat of the season. Sevilla are just three points away from safety and are missing a couple of key players still at the AFCON. They have lost their last three coming into this, so Elche are the likely winners.

Ostapenko is a hugely talented player on her day, as shown by her incredible 6??"0 head-to-head record against ?wi?tek. However, she is one of the most frustrating players around, as she is capable of losing to some of the lowest-ranked opponents. Her form coming into this is poor, with six straight defeats. The worry is that she has been walking off injured of late, so she may not see this match out.

Swiatek is the master at blowing away opponents in the first round of slams. She regularly bagels weak opponents and should brush aside qualifier Yuan with ease.

Northern Districts aren't a bad side. It's just that their batting lineup isn't deep, and they can struggle against good bowling units. They have won half their games, but it's telling that all three wins came against the struggling sides Otago and Canterbury. Central Districts have the momentum of five wins on the trot and have a more solid batting lineup.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is one of the biggest servers in the game but also one of the worst returners. That equates to a player who plays an awful lot of tiebreaks. Báez has always struggled on hardcourt but has taken his form on the surface to a new level this year with a 7-1 win-loss record. He beat some good players in doing so, so I see tiebreaks in this one and 4 or 5 sets.

Spizzirri is a rising star and has the game to trouble Fonseca. Fonseca hasn't played since October apart from one exhibition match. He is suffering from a long-term back injury, so I have to question what kind of condition he is in. He may be absolutely fine for this, but I have my doubts. Even if 100% fit, Spizzirri still has a good chance of taking the first set against a probably rusty Fonseca.

This will be Monfils' last Australian Open, so he will be giving it his all. However, his form coming into this isn't great and he looks vulnerable to the Australian Sweeny. Sweeny was incredibly busy on hardcourts last year, playing 95 games and winning 70 of them. He started this year well with 5 wins from 6 matches. He is playing to a high enough standard to ensure this is a close game.

Hurkacz went half a year without playing before participating in the United Cup. To be fair, he did OK, but it was his powerful serve that got him through. His movement was questionable. Bergs is a quality returner, so he may have some joy on Hurkacz's serve. When in rallies his superior movement will give him the edge, so he appeals at this price.

Dimitrov has played just two tournaments since Wimbledon: two games at the Paris Masters and two games recently in Brisbane. He didn't look at his best in losing to Colliton in straight sets and could be rusty in set one against in-form Machá?. Machá? won the title last week in Adelaide, beating some good players. As long as this hasn't come too soon for him, he can grab the first set.

Two struggling sides with just four wins apiece. I think home advantage will be the key to the outcome. Kuzeyboru have lost all seven away games, including to struggling third-bottom Aydin B.?ehir Bld. Goztepe won 3-0 at home last time, so I think they edge this.

Rayo Vallecano have regressed from last season where they qualified for the Conference League. Although they are solid defensively at home, they struggle to score. They've scored just 7 and conceded 6, with an average of just 1.4 goals per game. Osasuna have scored just 3 goals in their 10 away games, so this doesn't look like a goal fest.