With the women’s WTA Tour heading to the U.A.E. for the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Championships, now is a perfect time to offer up a trio of expert tennis betting predictions on a trio of matches that will all be going down in Dubai on Tuesday, February 18. Okay, with that thought in mind, let’s get down to business.

Top Tennis Betting Picks of the Week – February 17th Edition

Petra Martic vs. Su-Wei Hsieh

29-year-old Croatian Petra Martic is 1-3 on the year and comes into Dubai off a humbling 3-6, 4-6 loss against Xiyu Wang in her first round match at the Thailand Open. 34-year-old Su-Wei Hsieh lost her opener at the Australian Open, but she also reached the finals in doubles alongside partner Barbara Strycova before falling to Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets.

Prediction:

These two players have met three times before, with Hsieh holding a narrow 2-1 edge. This time around though, I’m going with the younger Petra Martic to get the win in this one, out of sheer desperation if nothing else. This one should go the distance, but in the end, Petra Martic is the pick.

Pick:
Petra Martic in 3 Sets

Sofia Kenin vs. Elena Rybakina

21-year-old American and world No. 7 Sofia Kenin is off to a fantastic start in 2020 after claiming her  first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Along the way, Kennin took out the gifted Coco Gauff, World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and two-time slam champion Garbine Muguruza.

20-year-old Russian and world No. 19 Elena Rybakina is also off to a fantastic start after reaching the finals at the Shenzen Open to start the year before going on to win at Hobart.  Rybakina also reached the third round Down Under before losing to Barty, but she bounced back nicely by reaching the finals at St. Petersburg before falling to Kiki Bertens.

Prediction:

While these two have never met, tennis fans everywhere should be expecting a knock-down, drag-out thriller in this affair. Elena Rybakina is a player with a huge upside moving forward, but Sofia Kenin has taken her game to an entirely new level this year. Kenin plays an aggressive style that keeps her opponents on their heels and that just what I’m expecting in this matchup.

While I’m fully expecting Elena Rybakina to put up a helluva’ fight, in the end, I’m going with Sofia Kenin to build on her phenomenal start even more by getting the hard-fought win in this one in a three-set thriller!

Pick:
Sofia Kenin in 3 Sets

Elina Svitolina vs. Jennifer Brady

25-year-old Ukraine native and world No. 6 Elina Svitolina is off to a decent, but certainly not great, start in 2020. She dropped her opener against Danielle Collins at Brisbane before getting knocked out in the third round in Australia by falling to Garbine Muguruza in straight sets. Svitolina then won two matches at Thailand before getting bounced in the third round by the unheralded Nao Hibino.

24-year-old American and world No. 52 Jennifer Brady has been solid, if not outstanding, to start 2020. She did manage to subdue maria Sharapova in her opener at Brisbane before stunning world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in three sets in the second round. Svitolina lost to Petra Kvitova in the third round. Then, Svitolina had a bad Aussie Open tournament by getting bounced in the first round against former World No. 1 Simona Halep although she reached the quarterfinals in doubles. Svitolina then got bounced out in the first round at St. Petersburg by losing to veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.

Prediction:

These two players have met just once before with Svitolina winning in straight sets. For this second head-to-head meeting, I’m going with Elena Svitolina to get the hard-fought win in three sets, as she looks to improve on her horrific start to 2020.

Pick:
Elina Svitolina in 3 Sets