Andy Schooler brings you his Tennis Best Bets for the first round of this week’s ATP tournaments in Dubai and Santiago respectively.
Tennis Best Bets: Andy Schooler ATP Dubai/ATP Santiago 2025 Preview
I’ve mentioned Halys in this column already this season, in particular highlighting his strong serving stats. He’s held serve in 90% of service games so far in 2025 and could be a frustrating first opponent in Dubai for Rublev, who must adjust after his impressive week in Doha where he emerged as the champion.
However, while Dubai isn’t too far from Doha, the DecoTurf courts here do tend to play faster and so the transition may not be an easy one for the Russian, who isn’t the strongest mentally when he’s struggling to find answers. He may also be feeling it a bit after three lengthy matches in the last three rounds in Qatar.
Tennis Best Bets: Quentin Halys v Andrey Rublev
Halys, who took Felix Auger-Aliassime to a final-set tie-break in Doha, is already bedded in on this surface having come through qualifying. He lost serve only once in those two matches and I do think he’s capable of causing problems here. With a strong tie-break record – he won 65% of them in 2024 – Halys could well nick a set here and I’ll back him on the set handicap.
Tennis Best Bets: Jaime Faria v Luciano Darderi
Darderi looks a very opposable favourite in Santiago. He’s now lost 15 of his last 17 matches. One of his victories came via retirement, while the other was against a player ranked outside the top 300. And it’s not as if he’s gong up against a bum here, either. Faria arrives in good form having reached the quarter-finals in Rio last week, while last month he took a set off Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Confidence should be high for a man who has just cracked the top 100 for the first time.
Both men must now adjust to different conditions – while Rio was down at sea level, they play at more than 700m up in Chile. That altitude factor should suit Faria, who concluded his 2024 campaign with a Challenger Tour title in Curitiba, a venue which is 900m above sea level. With Darderi down in the dumps and Faria anything but, the underdog just has to be backed here.
Tennis Best Bets: Yannick Hanfmann v Facundo Diaz Acosta
I’ve already mentioned the Santiago altitude – for the uninitiated, that means it’s more of a struggle to control the balls, which tend to fizz through the thinner air that bit quicker. History shows some players can deal with such conditions very well and Hanfmann is one of those. Nearly all of his best results on the ATP Tour have come at a decent altitude with his two final appearances both coming in the Alps in Kitzbuhel and Gstaad. At this tournament, he’s twice made the last eight.
He should be happy with these conditions and comes into this contest leading the head-to-head 2-1. The most recent of those came in straight sets Houston in 2023 and while that’s not an altitude venue, it does play pretty quick, certainly for a claycourt event. Admittedly, Hanfmann’s form does little to inspire confidence – he’s yet to win a main-draw match in 2025 – but Diaz Acosta hasn’t fared much better.
The Argentine has lost both matches on this South American Golden Swing of claycourt tournaments, meaning he’s lost in the first round of three of his five events this season. Having failed to defend any of the points gained when winning in Buenos Aires last year, he’s tumbled down the rankings this month and may well be feeling the pressure. At odds-against, Hanfmann is the bet here.
Tennis Best Bets: ATP Dubai, ATP Acapulco & ATP Santiago 2025
Quentin Halys (+1.5 Sets) to beat Andrey Rublev @ 1.78 with kwiff
Jaime Faria to beat Luciano Darderi @ 2.25 with kwiff
Yannick Hanfmann to beat Facundo Diaz Acosta @ 2.1 with kwiff
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