Tennis best bets for Thursday, June 19th – Queen’s Club, Halle & Berlin
We’re in the short grass-court portion of the 2025 tennis season. That means we’re not too far away from Wimbledon, which is one of the best events in sports. However, we do have three 500-level events on the calendar for this week, so it’s time to lock in now. Some of the top players on the ATP Tour are at Queen’s Club for the HSBC Championships, and others are in Halle for the Terra Wortmann Open. Meanwhile, most of the women are in Germany for the Berlin Tennis Open. With all of that out of the way, let’s get into some tennis picks for Thursday, June 19th.
I’d also strongly suggest checking the Pro Picks page throughout the day. That’s where Gill Alexander will be posting his best bets. Gill does a tremendous job handicapping tennis on A Numbers Game, which is a staple of our live VSiN programming. Also, while I try to write up as many of my plays as possible, I do occasionally add things to that page throughout the day. That’s also where I post plays for smaller ATP and WTA events, and my Challenger-level plays live exclusively on that page.
Fabian Marozsan vs. Tomas Machac – Halle
Machac looks like a top-10 talent on tour. He’s a good mover, he has a massive backhand and his ability to play attacking tennis can just be breathtaking when he’s on. However, Machac hasn’t been able to stay healthy, and he also hasn’t had much success on grass. The Czech is just 2-4 in tour-level matches on this surface, and I didn’t think he looked all that good against Jesper De Jong in a three-set win in the Round of 32 here. With that in mind, I’m a little surprised that Marozsan is available at plus-money odds here.
Marozsan is another player that hasn’t had a lot of grass-court success, but that feels destined to change. The Hungarian has a huge serve, as he’s holding at 85.9% this season. He also has a punishing forehand, along with one of the best dropshots on the ATP Tour. All of those weapons should eventually lead to a successful grass-court career.
As far as this match goes, I know Machac beat Marozsan 7-6 (5), 6-1 last year, but this is a different season. Marozsan is playing some of the best tennis of his career, and he has been able to consistently stay on the court. That has helped him establish a rhythm that Machac simply doesn’t have. And I just think that Marozsan’s serve is going to keep him in this, which is why it’s worth a stab at this number.
If you’re taking this one with me, I’d suggest doing it at FanDuel — or any other shop that grades a first-set retirement as a win. Machac was able to finish his last match, but he had retired in back-to-back matches heading into that one. He’s up to five retirements and walkovers this year. Machac has had trouble with cramping and other minor injuries throughout his career, and he’s always a threat to pull the plug on a match.
Bet: Marozsan ML (+112)
Gabriel Diallo vs. Jiri Lehecka – Queen’s Club
I thought Lehecka was going to lose to Alex de Minaur, but the Czech was able to beat the Australian on his best surface. That was a 6-4, 6-2 beatdown, with Lehecka’s big serve and power baseline game causing all sorts of issues for de Minaur. That was a little surprising considering how good de Minaur is at defending and absorbing pace, but Lehecka is a tough player to beat when he’s on. And I like him to take care of business against Diallo.
Diallo just won the first title of his career last week, beating Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert and Zizou Bergs in the process. It was a tremendous run for a 23-year-old that seems to really be coming into his own. The problem is that it’s very tough to follow up a deep run — or title run — with back-to-back strong results. At some point, I’m expecting a physical and emotional letdown from the Canadian. And honestly, if he was facing a better opponent in the Round of 32 here, he might have lost. Billy Harris pushed Diallo in what was ultimately a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory for the Canadian that could have gone either way. Well, if Diallo brings that same level against Lehecka, the Czech is going to win.
I also just don’t think Diallo’s advantage on serve is going to be big enough to make up for the gap in baseline play here. Lehecka is a little cleaner when it comes to ball striking.
Bet: Lehecka ML (-160)
2025 Record: 771-751-1 (+27.66 units)
