Dallas, Rotterdam, Abu Dhabi and Cluj-Napoca tennis best bets for February 7th
The 2025 Australian Open is in the books, but tennis never stops. This week, the top ATP players in the world are competing in Rotterdam and Dallas, and the best WTA players are playing in Abu Dhabi and Cluj-Napoca. Rotterdam and Dallas are both 500-level events, so the men are going to be really locked in for those two tournaments. On the women’s side, Abu Dhabi is a 500 and Cluj-Napoca is a 250. I’ll be handicapping all of the events on both tours this week, and I’ll also be mixing in some Challenger-level plays. However, I’m only going to be writing up the 500-level events this season, so you’ll find my lower-level tournament plays on the Pro Picks page. That said, keep reading for my Dallas, Rotterdam and Abu Dhabi tennis best bets for Friday, February 7th.
I’m going to quickly hit on some of my favorite picks below, and I occasionally add some picks throughout the day. Schedules can get wonky with the international nature of the sport, and I also like to see how odds are moving. That said, keep checking the picks page every couple of hours if you want more of my picks.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
2025 Record: 150-130-1 (+10.41 units)
Mattia Bellucci vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas – Rotterdam
Hubert Hurkacz vs. Andrey Rublev – Rotterdam
Tsitsipas played one of his best matches in quite some time against Tallon Griekspoor. Sure, there were some blips along the way, including some shaky service games. However, it felt like whenever Griekspoor got some momentum, Tsitsipas snatched it right back. Now, the Greek star should feel really good about booking a spot in the semifinals. Of course, Bellucci can be a dangerous player. We have seen that for the better part of two years now. The lefty is a good mover and an aggressive ball striker. However, Tsitsipas’ serve and forehand will be the two biggest shots on the court in this match. And while Bellucci will feel good about going cross court with his big forehand into the weak Tsitsipas backhand, that might not work very well on these courts. Part of the reason Tsitsipas has looked so good in Rotterdam is that the conditions are slow and he has time to load up on that side. Tsitsipas’ backhand generally breaks down when he is rushed. There’s a reason he’s so dominant on clay. With that in mind, I like a confident Tsitsipas to handle his business on the moneyline, so I’m throwing it into a two-leg parlay.
For the second leg, I’m taking Rublev to win a set against Hurkacz. While I looked to be a bit off in backing Jiri Lehecka to beat Hurkacz the other day, I still think the Czech was going to find a way through if he didn’t get injured. Hurkacz definitely played a little better than expected there, but I don’t feel any differently about the way his game translates to these conditions. On slower courts, his serve is neutralized a bit, and his baseline style of pushing and hoping for misses is even weaker than normal. Rublev should be able to take advantage by finding some openings in the return game. And the Russian is going to batter Hurkacz’s weak groundstrokes. Ultimately, Hurkacz could still win because his ability to rack up holds give him a shot in any match. But I would be surprised if the better player doesn’t at least force a decider.
PARLAY: Tsitsipas ML & Rublev +1.5 Sets (-122 – 1.5 units)
Ashlyn Krueger vs. Linda Noskova – Abu Dhabi
Krueger is a player with a big future, as she has a booming serve and a ton of baseline power. That’s somewhat rare on the WTA Tour. However, the courts in Abu Dhabi are playing slow, which we saw when Ons Jabeur nearly upset Elena Rybakina on Thursday. That bodes well for Noskova in this match. Noskova is just a much better baseline player than Krueger, as she is a ball basher and can be insanely difficult to beat when she has time to set her feet. And these slower hard courts certainly allow her to do that.
We have seen Noskova make deep runs in packed fields when the conditions suit her well, with Monterrey in 2024 being the main example. Well, I see this being another tournament that she can actually win, and I’m willing to lay the games with her against Krueger.
I’m a little nervous about Noskova being good enough with her serve, as that can be a big problem against certain players. But Krueger isn’t all that dangerous as a returner, making this a really strong on-court matchup for the Czech.
Bet: Noskova -2.5 Games (-129)
Jaume Munar vs. Matteo Arnaldi – Dallas
It can be easy to get swept up in one performance, and Munar’s win over Ben Shelton was definitely impressive. I thought Shelton had a real shot at winning this tournament, and Munar completely out-classed him. The Spaniard was dialed in as a returner, hit his spots with his serve and played clean, aggressive tennis from the baseline. Nothing Shelton threw at him got him rattled, and Munar came up big when things seemed like they were getting away. However, Arnaldi’s -157 odds suggest he’d only beat Munar 61.1% of the time. And on a hard court, I can’t get on board with that. Munar had a losing record in seven straight years before this one, and his 31.7% winning percentage on hard courts is a big part of that.
The extremely slow conditions in Dallas definitely do help Munar quite a bit. The Spaniard is awesome on clay, so he knows how to beat opponents when things are a little grittier. But Arnaldi has a winning ATP record on both hard courts and clay courts, and he comes into this year after having had winning records in back-to-back seasons. He’s just a much better player than Munar, and his game translates to all surfaces. With that in mind, he won’t be as thrown off by the court speeds as Shelton was.
This just feels like a match in which we’re going to see some very long rallies, and one of these guys is going to out-grind the other. But Arnaldi has a little more power than Munar, so the Italian is going to have an easier time finishing points. Arnaldi is also historically better than Munar as a server. Those things really should amount to a win. I also have no doubts about his motivation, as the start of 2025 has been less than ideal. Arnaldi should view this as an opportunity to get on track.
Bet: Arnaldi ML (-157)
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.
Thursday’s Plays
Juan Manuel Cerundolo ML (-104) vs. Federico Coria [Rosario Challenger] – Delayed from Wednesday
PARLAY: Alex de Minaur ML vs. Jakub Mensik [Rotterdam] & Matteo Arnaldi +1.5 Sets vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina [Dallas] (+110)
Ons Jabeur +1.5 Sets (-130 – 1.5 units) vs. Elena Rybakina [Abu Dhabi]
Ons Jabeur ML (+205 – 0.5 units) vs. Elena Rybakina [Abu Dhabi]
Tallon Griekspoor ML (+111) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas [Rotterdam]
PARLAY: Francisco Comesana ML vs. Andrea Pellegrino [Rosario Challenger] & Tom Paris +1.5 Sets vs. Lucas Poullain [Lille Challenger] (-105 – 1.5 units)
Ana Bogdan ML (-123) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto [Cluj-Napoca]
