Dallas, Rotterdam, Abu Dhabi and Cluj-Napoca tennis best bets for February 4th

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 Tuesday, February 4th.

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: 131-115-1 (+4.76 units)

Jelena Ostapenko vs. Ons Jabeur – Abu Dhabi

Jabeur is a former top-five player and three-time Grand Slam runner-up, but injuries caused her to fall in the rankings. Fortunately, the Tunisian is looking healthy in 2025, and she is already 6-3 on the year. The losses have also come against Mirra Andreeva, Yulia Putintseva and Emma Navarro, so it’s not like she has any disappointing results. Also, the loss against Navarro was a battle that could have gone either way in the Round of 32 at the Australian Open. That said, it seems like Jabeur is back in business, and I like her handle that business against Ostapenko.

Ostapenko is another former top-five player, so this isn’t the easiest matchup in the world. However, the Latvian is one of the most erratic players on the planet, capable of either blasting her opponents off the court or completely taking herself out of matches. Well, I think we’re going to see the latter here. Jabeur is just a little better than Ostapenko when it comes to staying solid, and the Tunisian is also a master when it comes to mixing up spins and angles to throw opponents off. So, even if Ostapenko doesn’t mentally take herself out of this, Jabeur has the ability to rattle her with her unorthodox style.

It’s also just hard to overlook that Ostapenko is 1-3 in singles play in 2025, and the Latvian’s serve is a complete nightmare. If she’s not able to consistently put first serves in, this one could be rather lopsided. That’s why I’m comfortable with laying some games instead of taking a heavily juiced moneyline.

On top of all of that, Jabeur beat Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4 in Madrid last year. That was their most recent meeting, and Jabeur is playing better tennis to start 2025 than she did in 2024.

Bet: Jabeur -2.5 Games (-122)

Marcos Giron vs. Casper Ruud – Dallas

Giron went all the way to the final in Dallas last year, and he generally plays good hard-court tennis in the United States. However, it’s really hard to see him beating Ruud in an indoor hard-court event. Ruud suffered a disappointing loss to Jakub Mensik at the Australian Open, but that’s a 19-year-old rising star with unbelievable firepower. Mensik was able to make Ruud uncomfortable by blasting serves and just crushing the ball from the baseline. Mensik’s backhand is already one of the biggest weapons on the ATP Tour, and his forehand was working that day. Well, Giron doesn’t have those types of weapons. The American is a solid player in every aspect of the game, but he’s not particularly great at anything. The forehand is probably his biggest asset, when he’s hitting it well. But Ruud should be able to dominate forehand-to-forehand exchanges, and he’s a better server and returner than the American. So, at these odds, I’m not overthinking this. I’m taking the player that is more talented than his opponent — especially considering he has a better understanding of how to win matches. I don’t see home-court advantage being enough for Giron to pull off this upset.

Bet: Ruud ML (-154 – 1.5 units)

Kei Nishikori vs. Tomas Machac – Dallas

Machac is currently ninth in the world in hard-court Elo rating, and I’m not sure I see Nishikori playing the type of dynamite tennis that people seem to think he’s playing. A lot of people liked Nishikori to push Tommy Paul in Melbourne, but that ended up being a one-sided four-set win for the American. And that came directly after a match in which Nishikori struggled against Thiago Monteiro. Nishikori also got rocked by Jacob Fearnley in a Davis Cup match last week, and I’m trying not to put too much stock in his run to the finals in Hong Kong before the Australian Open. The 35-year-old is obviously a talented player, and he knows how to win matches as a veteran that has played in a ton of big events. But Machac is an emerging talent that should have a big advantage from the backhand wing, and I like the way he matches up everywhere else. Machac also has a slight rest advantage against Nishikori. The 35-year-old played two Davis Cup matches last week while Machac only played one.

I think the price on this match would look very different if Machac played a little better against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, but nerves clearly played a big role in the Czech underperforming there. He has a big enough game to push anybody in any match, so that was merely a blip on the radar. I expect him to look more like a top-15 talent in this winnable matchup against an aging player.

Bet: Machac ML (-154)

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.

Monday’s Plays

Caroline Garcia ML (-172) vs. Lulu Sun [Abu Dhabi]
PARLAY: Stan Wawrinka Alt +6.5 Games vs. Daniil Medvedev [Rotterdam] & Frances Tiafoe ML vs. Taro Daniel [Dallas] (-140 – 1.5 units)
Arthur Bouquier ML (-108) vs. Rudolf Molleker [Lille Challenger]
Lukas Pokorny ML (+120) vs. Samuel Vincent Ruggeri [Tenerife Challenger]
Elena-Gabriela Ruse ML (-110 – 1.5 units) vs. Anhelina Kalinina [Cluj-Napoca]
Marina Stakusic ML (+110) vs. Sorana Cirstea [Cluj-Napoca]
PARLAY: Juan Bautista Torres ML vs. Marco Cecchinato [Rosario Challenger] & Matteo Arnaldi To Win A Set vs. Christopher Eubanks [Dallas] (-125 – 1.5 units)
Lucas Pouille ML (-219 – 1.5 units) vs. Clement Chidekh [Lille Challenger]
Guido Ivan Justo +1.5 Sets (-155 – 1.5 units) vs. Gonzalo Villanueva [Rosario Challenger]
Juan Carlos Prado Angelo +5.5 Games (-222 – 1.5 units) vs. Juan Manuel Cerundolo [Rosario Challenger]

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