It’s time for the ATP tournament in Auckland this week, and Ace has previewed the action so you don’t have to! Check out his preview and outright best bet below.
ATP Auckland Outright Betting Preview
The week before grand slams always have the potential to throw up a little bit of chaos. A lot of the big names aren’t entered into tournaments this week as they are gearing up for the Australian Open, so let’s look through each quarter here and come up with some selections in the outright markets that are currently available.
The first quarter of the market is dominated by the top seed in Ben Shelton, who is looking to take his game to a new level in 2025 and improve his game in a number of areas. Shelton’s return stats certainly let him down at the moment, so it will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable changes to his game in the early stages. The windy conditions in Auckland probably aren’t in his wheelhouse, and a second round match with Jakub Mensik isn’t exactly straightforward, so I will likely sit out of this quarter with it likely to come down to that round 2 match.
Quarter 2 doesn’t look exceptionally strong, and it is hard to make a strong outright case at the prices for the key names here. The player with the highest ceiling in terms of ability and potential here is Flavio Cobolli, however he can wildly fluctuate in level and I wasn’t sold on what I saw from him at the United Cup. Happy to look elsewhere.
It is the big serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard who was set to dominate the third quarter, a late withdrawal weakens the overall draw. I do think Yunchaokete Bu is capable of an upset in round 1, but is another player I am not sure I can trust in the outright markets. As you can tell, it is somewhat slim pickings so far, with the player I am most interested in coming from the bottom quarter.
I am not the biggest fan of Alex Michelsen, however his best tennis is certainly capable here with his placement in the draw. He is likely to have a tricky second round, however I give him a strong chance in any match-up he has in this draw, and as a result I cannot pass up the double figures that are currently on offer for him in the outright market.
Alex Michelsen to win ATP Auckland
$10 (1 Unit)
