ATP 250 Auckland 1/16-Finals

Norrie – Diaz Acosta: 07.01.2025 01:00 CEST
H2H: 2-0

Cameron Norrie has won three of his last five matches. Last week in Hong Kong, Norrie reached the quarterfinals, losing against Nishikori in three tight sets, as we predicted. Overall, it was a solid tournament for the Brit. Last season was a rough season for the Brit, who is on the verge of dropping outside the top 50 in the rankings. Last year in Auckland, Cameron reached the quarterfinals when he retired against Tabilo.

Facundo Diaz Acosta has lost four of his last five matches. Being an Argentinian, Facundo spent most of his career playing on the slow clay courts in South America. Here in Auckland, Facundo won the first qualifying match against Rai in straight sets. After that, in the final qualifying round, Diaz Acosta lost against Nardi after spending almost three hours on the court. However, with several players withdrawing from the tournament, Facundo entered the main draw as a lucky loser. Around this time last year, Facundo played in Adelaide, where he lost in the opening main draw round against Thompson in straight sets.

Best Bet to Make

According to the bookies, Norrie is the big favorite in this match, and we agree. The Brit loves to play on fast courts like this one, and he is finally playing his best tennis again. On the other hand, Facundo has never had any success on fast courts like this one.

That being said, Norrie covering the games handicap is a value bet.

Value bet/ the best odds: Cameron Norrie -4.5 games handicap @1.83 @bet365

Struff – Bu: 07.01.2025 01:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting

Jan-Lennard Struff has lost three of his last five matches. His last competitive match was at the Davis Cup competition over a month ago. So far this season, Struff has not played in any tournaments. Struff won his maiden ATP title last season in Munich on home soil. He is currently a top-50 player and hopes to cement his spot. Jan-Lennard is a solid player on every surface. Around this time last year, Struff played in Hong Kong, where he reached the second round, losing against Ofner in three tight sets.

Yunchaokete Bu has lost three of his last five matches. His last win was in November when he defeated Ymer at the Challenger Tournament in Japan. So far this season, Bu has played only one tournament. Last week in Hong Kong, Bu lost in the opening round against Borges in three tight sets. Bu had a chance to close out the match in the deciding set when he was 5-3 up and served for the match. However, he fumbled under pressure and lost the deciding set through a tiebreak.

Best Bet to Make

According to the bookies, Struff is the slight favorite in this matchup, but we disagree. Considering that he has not played competitive matches for a while, we expect him to be slightly rusty in his opening match against Bu. Yunchaokete Bu played a solid match last week in Hong Kong, so we believe he will be better prepared than Struff.

That being said, Bu winning is a value bet.

Value bet/ the best odds: Yunchaokete Bu winning @2.20 @bet365

Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports