Tennis best bets and predictions for Thursday, July 24th:<\/p>\n
We\u2019re officially on the road to the 2025 US Open. Over the next couple of weeks, some of the top players in the world will be competing in some massive hard-court tournaments. This week, I\u2019m focusing on the action in Washington DC, where the men and women are playing in a 500-level event: the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Keep reading for my tennis best bets for Thursday, July 24th, but make sure you also check out the Pro Picks page<\/a>. That\u2019s where you\u2019ll find my picks for some of the smaller events \u2014\u00a0including the random clay-court tournaments.<\/p>\n I do occasionally add picks throughout the day, as I like to see how odds are moving. So, keep checking the picks page every couple of hours if you want more of my action. That\u2019s also where you\u2019ll find picks from Gill Alexander, who does great work handicapping tennis on A Numbers Game. You can watch Gill analyze tennis<\/a> Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to noon ET. That said, if you like tennis, you might want to consider becoming a VSiN Pro<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts\u00a0are betting!<\/a><\/p>\n 2025 Record: 911-877-1 (+54.52 units)<\/p>\n Yibing Wu vs. Daniil Medvedev<\/p>\n It\u2019s exciting to see Wu playing some good tennis again. While the 25-year-old maxed out at No. 54 in the rankings, he looked like he was ticketed for a spot in the Top 25 before injuries completely derailed his career. Now, the Chinese star appears to be getting healthy, as he has had some success at the Challenger level and is starting to win some tour-level matches. This week alone, Wu has earned wins over Corentin Moutet, Gael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin. Those are three players that have had plenty of success, making it easy to be optimistic about where the 25-year-old\u2019s game is right now. <\/p>\n In this specific matchup, my concern for Wu is the serve. In 2023, when Wu was at his best, his hold percentage was just 75.1%. And last match, against Popyrin, he gave the Australian a bunch of chances to break. But Wu ended up saving eight of the 10 break points he faced in the match, and that ultimately allowed him to find a way through. I\u2019m not sure I see that happening against Medvedev. <\/p>\n While Medvedev\u2019s return game isn\u2019t quite what it once was, he still has a break percentage of 25.8% this season. That number would probably be higher if not for some lopsided matches against elite servers. But I like the Russian to put a lot of pressure on the Wu serve. <\/p>\n I also think Medvedev\u2019s baseline game will give Wu some problems. Wu can blast some shots from the baseline, but he can also be wild in looking to do so. Those are the exact types of players that Medvedev has success against. His defense isn\u2019t as impenetrable as it once was, but it has been good this year \u2014\u00a0and his steal scores reflect that. <\/p>\n Ultimately, I just see Medvedev winning this match in somewhat straightforward fashion. And even if he drops a set, I can see him winning one by a wide enough margin that he can still cover a 3.5-game spread in a three-set victory. <\/p>\n Bet: Medvedev -3.5 Games (-128) <\/p>\n Gabriel Diallo vs. Ben Shelton<\/p>\n There\u2019s a good chance Diallo and Shelton go to a decider. There hasn\u2019t been much that has separated these two recently. Since the start of 2025, Shelton\u2019s 61.5% winning percentage is a little stronger than Diallo\u2019s 59.4%. However, Diallo is 13-6 in his last 19 matches, and he has come into his own a bit. The American is still a little better overall, as his movement along the baseline is a lot better. But Diallo won\u2019t look like he doesn\u2019t belong, and the serves will be the star of the show here. <\/p>\n This season, Diallo has a hold percentage of 85.4% and a break percentage of only 18.5%. Meanwhile, Shelton has a hold percentage of 86.8% and a break percentage of just 15.9%. These are just two players that hold regularly, and they don\u2019t really put a lot of pressure on opponents as returners. <\/p>\n Considering all of that, I think we\u2019ll see both players get on the board with a set, and it\u2019s likely they\u2019ll do so in a tiebreaker \u2014\u00a0or by a score of 7-5. That makes the Over an enticing play, especially considering it\u2019s very possible that this will hit even in a straight-set win for one of them. Let\u2019s not forget that these are server-friendly conditions. <\/p>\n Bet: Over 23.5 Games (-110)<\/p>\n Daniel Evans vs. Corentin Moutet<\/p>\n Moutet is a very good player, but he\u2019s better on natural surfaces. That\u2019s where his variety \u2014\u00a0and overall wizardry \u2014\u00a0really troubles opponents. There\u2019s a reason Moutet is just 36-46 on hard courts in his career, and he\u2019s also just 8-11 on the surface over the last 52 weeks. With that in mind, I\u2019m a little surprised he\u2019s such a heavy favorite against Evans, who won this tournament in 2023 and has already earned wins over Zizou Bergs and Alex Michelsen this week. <\/p>\n I understand Evans\u2019 slice backhand might not be as effective going low cross court against a shorter player, as he might find Moutet\u2019s sweet zones on the lefty\u2019s forehand wing. But these two have met twice at the ATP level, with Evans taking a set on both occasions. Also, while Moutet did win both matches, the Frenchman\u2019s win over Evans at the 2020 US Open was a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) nail-biter. <\/p>\n This just feels like a 50-50 matchup on a surface like this, but I\u2019d give a slight nod to Evans considering the success he\u2019s had at this venue. At the very least, I expect the Brit to win a set. <\/p>\n Bet: Evans +1.5 Sets (-143 \u2013 1.5 units) & Evans ML (+180 \u2013 0.5 units)<\/p>\n Added Plays<\/p>\n I usually have A LOT MORE on the Pro Picks page<\/a>. Those plays count towards my record and have been a big part of my success this season. Make sure you check them out. I\u2019ll probably add a few more over there, so refresh that page throughout the day if you\u2019re looking for action.<\/p>\n Tennis Links\u00a0<\/p>\n VSiN Tennis Betting Splits<\/a><\/p>\n