Acapulco, Dubai, Merida tennis best bets for February 28th
Between the ATP and WTA Tours, we have five tournaments to watch this week. I’m going to continue churning out tennis best bets from Sunday to Thursday (until some of the bigger tournaments arrive, my plays for most semifinals and finals will be on the picks page), so come back to the website for writeups on the 500-level events — like Acapulco, Dubai and Merida. The fields for Acapulco and Dubai are especially interesting, so I’m paying closer attention to those two. Also, make sure you’re checking out the picks page for all of my action for smaller tournaments and Challengers.
We’re entering the most exciting portion of the tennis calendar, as there are several 1000-level events in the coming weeks. Those then flow into the majors, so everything heats up pretty quickly. We’ll be covering all of them, whether that’s with my columns or Gill Alexander’s excellent work on A Numbers Game. That said, if you like tennis, now is the time to consider a VSiN Pro subscription!
With all of that in mind, check out my Acapulco, Dubai and Merida best bets for Friday, February 28th.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
Quentin Halys vs. Felix Auger Aliassime – Dubai
Tallon Griekspoor vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas – Dubai
I’m going to another two-leg parlay in Dubai for Friday morning. The first leg calls for Auger Aliassime to beat Halys. Honestly, the Frenchman has played some awesome tennis this week, and his big serve is going to make Auger Aliassime come up with the goods in this one. However, Halys has played three tough matches in a row, including two physical three-setters. He also had to go through qualifying to get into the main draw. I just wouldn’t be surprised if fatigue catches up to him in this one, and that would be very troubling for the 28-year-old. Auger Aliassime is already the better player, so Halys needs to be at his very best in order to compete here. It’s also just hard not to like the idea of backing a red-hot player like Auger Aliassime. The Canadian is 15-4 since the start of the 2025 season, and he already has two titles to his name. Auger Aliassime is serving well, giving himself chances as a returner and playing good tennis from the baseline. His movement looks much better than it has in previous years. All of that should eventually help him outlast Halys.
In the other match, I’m taking Griekspoor to win a set against Tsitsipas. The Greek star has definitely looked great throughout the week, and there was a fire and intensity in his eyes against Matteo Berrettini that we just haven’t seen in a long time. It’s clear that Tsitsipas is feeling confident again, and it’s possible a recent racquet change — he switched to a Babolat — is giving him the extra jolt he needs. However, we just saw Tsitsipas and Griekspoor play a three-set match in which there were two tiebreakers in Rotterdam a few weeks back. This match is likely going to look a lot like that one, as both players will rack up holds and struggle to return. Well, if this is going to be a match that comes down to a few coin-flip tiebreakers, I’m riding with Griekspoor to come away with one of them.
PARLAY: Auger Aliassime ML & Griekspoor +1.5 Sets (-101 – 1.5 units)
Maya Joint vs. Elina Avanesyan – Merida
I had a big play on Joint to beat Donna Vekic on Wednesday, and the 18-year-old didn’t disappoint in that one. She earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory in that match, taking advantage of her opponent’s poor form and turning in an impressive ball-striking display. Well, I’m going right back to Joint as a bigger play on Friday. I definitely don’t expect this to be as easy as the other one, as Avanesyan has looked good in two matches in Merida and is simply in better form than Vekic. However, in terms of on-court weapons, I just love what Joint has in comparison to Avanesyan. She should be able to move her 22-year-old opponent all over the court in this one, opening up big targets for winners. And if Joint is playing nearly as well as she has been in recent weeks, she’ll find the court when she looks to end points.
Bet: Joint ML (-110 – 2 units)
Additional Plays
I usually have A LOT MORE on the Pro Picks page. These plays count towards my record and have been a big part of my success in the past. Make sure you check them out. I’ll probably add a few more over there, so refresh that page throughout the day. My 250-level and Challenger-level action will live exclusively on the Pro Picks page.
