Tennis best bets and predictions for Wednesday, July 23rd:
We’re officially on the road to the 2025 US Open. Over the next couple of weeks, some of the top players in the world will be competing in some massive hard-court tournaments. This week, I’m focusing on the action in Washington DC, where the men and women are playing in a 500-level event: the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Keep reading for my tennis best bets for Wednesday, July 23rd, but make sure you also check out the Pro Picks page. That’s where you’ll find my picks for some of the smaller events — including the random clay-court tournaments.
I do occasionally add picks throughout the day, as I like to see how odds are moving. So, keep checking the picks page every couple of hours if you want more of my action. That’s also where you’ll find picks from Gill Alexander, who does great work handicapping tennis on A Numbers Game. You can watch Gill analyze tennis Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to noon ET. That said, if you like tennis, you might want to consider becoming a VSiN Pro.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
2025 Record: 905-876-1 (+48.66 units)
Learner Tien vs. Andrey Rublev
Tien didn’t enjoy playing on clay this season. He was just 1-6 on the surface this year, and he wasn’t much of a factor on grass either. But Tien is back on hard courts, where he is 13-11 over the last 52 weeks.
Tien’s ability to grind out rallies, redirect pace and paint lines makes him lethal on this surface. He’s also just unpleasant to compete against, as he gets a lot of balls back and can be a bit of a pusher. All of that makes him a rough opponent for Rublev, who hasn’t played all that well since getting back on hard courts.
Rublev beat Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano 6-3, 6-2 in Los Cabos last week, but that was his only comfortable victory. He needed three sets to outlast Emilio Nava in the quarterfinals, and he got upset by Aleksandar Kovacevic in the semis. Realistically, Rublev has the firepower to blast Tien off the court if he’s hitting his spots, but he was wild in Mexico. And if he can’t dial things in and avoid racking up unforced errors, Tien is going to frustrate the hell out of him. Tien is also going to have the crowd in his corner here, and that’s definitely something to worry about on the Rublev side. The Russian has had his issues managing his emotions throughout his career.
Bet: Tien +1.5 Sets (-152 – 1.5 units) & Tien ML (+188 – 0.5 units)
Maria Sakkari vs. Emma Navarro
Sakkari’s ranking has plummeted because of injuries, but she should get back into the Top 25 eventually. The Greek star also looked pretty good in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Katie Boulter last match. Sakkari has now turned in some strong performances over the last couple of weeks, and that makes it hard not to like her chances against Navarro on Wednesday.
For as good as Navarro is, she’s not the type of overpowering talent that Sakkari has struggled with. That’s why Sakkari has won two in a row against the American, including two victories in a down 2024 season. Both wins also happened to come on hard courts.
Sakkari has also never lost in straight sets to Navarro before, and I don’t see it happening now. I also like that Sakkari already won a match in DC. The last time we saw Navarro was at Wimbledon.
Bet: Sakkari +1.5 Sets (-147 – 1.5 units) & Sakkari ML (+180 – 0.5 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.
