Tennis expert Andy Schooler is back with his regular Monday column, including his latest huge tennis preview taking a peek at the ATP Tour events in Dubai, Acapulco and Santiago.
Andy’s Huge Tennis Preview: Monday 23rd Feb 2026
This match marks Draper’s return to the ATP Tour after many months and it doesn’t look an easy opener. The former world number four has played only two matches since Wimbledon, the most recent coming earlier this month in Davis Cup when beating Viktor Durasovic, a player ranked outside the top 300. This will be a much different test and, notably, it could be awkward in its nature. These are two players with big serves and I’d suggest this is a contest where Draper may struggle to get the rhythm he is probably craving right now.
Huge Tennis Preview: Quentin Halys v Jack Draper
That was certainly the case in the pair’s only previous completed match, one featuring just a single break of serve. Draper won it back in 2022. Halys hasn’t been pulling up trees of late but that serve has been doing just fine – he’s held 87% of the time so far this season. In qualifying, he dropped serve only once across his two matches. I’m tempted by Halys here at 2.8 but I can also see a scenario in which Draper shakes off the rust as the match wears on. I’m therefore going to back Halys to win the opening set at 2.45.
Huge Tennis Preview: Damir Dzumhur v Gael Monfils
They play on a sluggish Solflex hardcourt surface in Acapulco and that should suit Dzumhur’s grinding game style. Two of his three ATP titles came on slow hardcourts – in St Petersburg and Moscow – and while that hey day is now long gone, we can also say the same about Monfils. I’m not really sure what to expect from the Frenchman in 2026 which is essentially a long goodbye – he’s retiring at the end of the season. If being harsh, you could say he’s off to Acapulco for more reasons than just the tennis.
Certainly he’s shown little so far in 2026 to suggest he should be 1.42 to win this, playing two matches Down Under and losing both. This will be his first outing in more than a month. Dzumhur has been much more active and while, admittedly, wins haven’t been churned out, he did beat Pedro Martinez in Rio last week. Monfils leads the head-to-head 3-1 which perhaps explains the pricing but I still don’t think the odds are right here and will take a chance on the underdog.
Huge Tennis Preview: Tabilo v Barrios
Tabilo only finished playing in Rio, down at sea level, on Sunday night where he suffered one of the most-agonising defeats of his career, losing the final from a set and a break up. Yes, of course, I was on him.
Now he faces the dash to Santiago where they play up above 700m. That altitude factor means a big change in conditions – the ball will be travelling much quicker through the thinner air this week than did in Rio and, in the previous week, Buenos Aires. OK, Tabilo is a former finalist here but this isn’t a natural adjustment for him to make – he was born and raised in Canada and didn’t venture to Chile until he was 18.
Barrios Vera resides in Santiago so he’ll certainly be feeling at home. It’s also very interesting to see that he’s up 4-1 on the head-to-head across all levels (those who only check ATP Tour history will find Tabilo 1-0 up). The lesser-known Chilean was a recent semi-finalist in his homeland on the Challenger Tour – in Concepcion – so he’s been in decent nick on the clay, too. Given the circumstances, I just think Barrios Vera is worth a shot here, albeit his odds have contracted since Sunday night.
ATP Mondays: Huge Tennis Preview Tips
Dzumhur to beat Monfils @ 2.45 with kwiff
Halys to win 1st set v Draper @ 2.45 with kwiff
Barrios Vera to beat Tabilo @ 2.37 with kwiff
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