Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing Tennis picks today for January 25th: Tennis picks for David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh and Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis
Tennis Picks Today: January 25th
- Goffin vs Shelbayh: Shelbayh to win
- Monteiro vs Bagnis: Monteiro -3 games
Tough day on Wednesday, as Geoffrey Blancaneaux lost yet another three setter to Maxime Cressy, while Benjamin Hassan did fairly well getting out ahead in service games before being broken enough to keep the match under.
For Thursday, we look at David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh from the BW Open in Ottignies-Louvain-La-Neuve and Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis at the Punta del Este Challenger.
For more daily tennis tips, visit the bettingexpert community, but if you want more expert tips from Jon Reid, visit our Expert Insights section.
In this article:
- David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh Expert Tip
- David Goffin Recent Form
- Abdullah Shelbayh Recent Form
- David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh H2H Stat of the Match
- Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis Expert Tip
- Thiago Monteiro Recent Form
- Facundo Bagnis Recent Form
- Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis H2H Stat of the Match
- Safer Gambling
David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh (BW Open) Free Pick: Oppose Overvalued Veteran
- Pick: Shelbayh to win
- Best Odds: 3.25
- Bookmaker: Pinnacle
- Stakes: 3/10
Odds as at 1:00 am UK Time on January 25th, 2024. Odds may now differ.
The other reason is the overvaluation of the veteran, who isn’t anywhere near being the player he once was is also making this an enticing position to stake out.
Goffin hasn’t impressed me at all this season and I’d make the case he’s fortunate to even be playing this match after his lacklustre display against countryman Zizou Bergs last time out.
Read on for more expert insights.
David Goffin Recent Form
The Belgian’s record may look to be an impressive 6-2 to start the 2024 season, but within those six wins, there have been a slew of shaky performances.
Not only has he had to come back from a set down in half of those wins, but he was the clear betting favourite in each of those three comeback efforts.
He’s also looked fairly average in wins against the likes of Adam Walton and a Lloyd Harris that is also far from playing at his top level.
HIs first-round win also saw him down a break in the second and third sets against Bergs and required a complete dip in form in the middle stanza, followed by a physical breakdown in the decider to help the 33-year-old get over the line.
Shelbayh has had some mixed results, but he’s very talented and more than capable of pushing the veteran who seems to have lost a lot of his offensive capabilities.
Abdullah Shelbayh Recent Form
The former collegian from the University of Florida has had a pretty quick rise since the end of the 2022 season.
He’s set to reach a new career-high ranking on Monday and could push his way into the top-175 with a few more wins in Belgium this week.
His results have been tough to parse in recent months, with some incredibly odd losses (0-6, 1-6 to Matteo Martineau or a straight sets defeat against Tristan Schoolkate come to mind) mixed in with a title at the Charleston Challenger, as well as an impressive qualifying campaign in Metz, a first-round win as an underdog and a respectable loss to tour regular Lorenzo Sonego.
Throw in being competitive against some of the best players his age at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November and it’s not hard to see the potential.
He has decent variety, moves well, can work his way into return points and games and doesn’t commit too many unforced errors.
Against more powerful opposition I’d understand these odds. In this spot, however, I find this matchup far more competitive than the market.
David Goffin vs Abdullah Shelbayh H2H – Stat of the Match
No prior meeting between these two.
They are separated by about 13 years in age, so that’s not all that surprising. That also means that we have two players on relatively opposite trajectories in their careers.
This would be a great chance to Shelbayh to take another step forward.
Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis (Punta del Este Challenger) Free Pick: Brazilian to Emerge Victorious in All Lefty Battle
- Pick: Monteiro -3 games
- Best Odds: 2.04
- Bookmaker: Pinnacle
- Stakes: 5/10
Odds as at 1:00 am UK Time on January 25th, 2024. Odds may now differ.
Not only is Monteiro the better player at this stage of their careers, but any concerns regarding rust after not having played in 2024 were alleviated by a strong first performance in Uruguay.
Throw in Bagnis having played a lot of tennis in the last week after going deep in Argentina and I’m happy to back the better player who is likely more fresh entering the match.
Read on for more expert insights.
Thiago Monteiro Recent Form
As I alluded to, there isn’t that much form to go on for the Brazilian since he’s only played one match in 2024.
If we look back to the end of 2023, however, we can see he reached a semifinal in his penultimate Challenger tournament of the season and the final in his last. He also picked up a bronze medal at the Pan American games during that stretch.
Combined with his swift victory in his opening round match in Punta del Este the other day, winning by a seven-game margin in straight sets.
Armed with a combination of comfort on clay, powerful groundstrokes and heavy topspin, the 29-year-old actually has a game that should have him ranked far higher than world No. 120 and playing on the Challenger circuit.
Against what could be a fatigued opponent, who has been on the decline career-wise in the last year or so, I’d expect Monteiro to come away the victor.
Facundo Bagnis Recent Form
It’s been a strong start to the clay-court season for the 33-year-old Argentine. Last week, he picked up the title in Buenos Aires, winning an extremely tough match against Mariano Navone in the final after a surprisingly tough two setter against Dmitry Popko in the semis.
His path this week may be a bit tougher, however, as he needed well over two hours to beat talented young Austrian Lukas Neumayer in three sets and now plays one of the better players you’ll find playing South American Challengers in Monteiro.
The consistent southpaw plays an incredibly solid baseline game, while also hitting a fairly heavy ball.
I’m a little concerned that someone nearing his mid-30s that needs his legs to win matches could be in a bit of trouble after playing for over 12 hours since the start of last week.
Throw in the fact that he may be outmatched in talent and in the power department, and I think we see the Argentinian sent packing here and get ready for the Golden Swing, where he’s got a qualifying wild card in Cordoba in a few weeks time.
Thiago Monteiro vs Facundo Bagnis H2H – Stat of the Match
This matchup is a great example of why context is key when looking at head-to-head histories in tennis.
Bagnis may lead the head-to-head 6-4 against Monteiro (all played on clay), but Monteiro has won each of the last three contests between the two. In fact, none of Bagnis’ wins have come in the last four years and the last two tilts have seen Monteiro win in dominant fashion.
So, while the 6-4 lead to Bagnis may seem worrisome on the surface, once we look into the match history, it’s actually more encouraging than discouraging for those looking to back Monteiro.
SAFER GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.
