Tennis Betting Tips: Expect another bruising battle between Tiafoe & Karatsev

Thursday brings about another day of Tennis across the globe with ATP tournaments being held in Kitzbuhel, Umag and Atlanta, and WTA events taking place in Prague and Iasi.

It's to Atlanta and Prague I go for my Thursday Tennis betting tips, with Frances Tiafoe the headline name among my three picks.

Tennis Odds

Atlanta ATP - Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) to beat Mackenzie McDonald (USA) @ 5/4

After a difficult start to the year that saw him lose his opening seven matches and 12 of his first 15, American Mackenzie McDonald has found more success in recent weeks, winning three of his last four contests.

McDonald's most recent triumph came on Tuesday as he beat fellow countryman Brandon Nakashima (6-2, 6-4) in straight sets in the Atlanta Open round of 32.

The 29-year-old now goes in search of his first quarter-final appearance on the hard courts since Zhuhai last September, but he may find it tough on Thursday against Yoshihito Nishioka.

The Japanese player also won his opening game at this tournament in straight sets, beating American Zachary Svajda (7-6, 6-3) on Monday and getting a day's extra rest than McDonald.

Nishioka has won seven of his last 10 matches and should be in a confident mood heading into Thursday's contest, especially given he leads the head-to-head 5-2 with McDonald.

Their most recent meeting came at the Delray Beach Open in February last year, and it was McDonald who emerged victorious from that encounter, winning in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-2).

However, Nishioka did win the two previous head-to-heads in 2023 in straight sets and has the quality to oust an opponent 11 places below him in the ATP rankings.

Atlanta ATP - Over 23.5 total games in Aslan Karatsev (Wrl) vs Frances Tifaoe (USA) @ 1/1

Later in Atlanta, Aslan Karatsev and Frances Tifaoe meet for the fourth time with the latter currently leading the head-to-head 2-1, though they have won a match apiece on hard surfaces.

Tiafoe was made to work for his victory over the Russian (7-6, 7-6) at last August's Washington Open before Karatsev exacted his revenge at the Japan Open in Tokyo a couple of months later, also winning in straight sets (6-3, 7-6).

Karatsev has endured a difficult first seven months of the year, however, retiring after the second set in the Brisbane International on January 2 and winning just one of his subsequent seven matches before Tuesday's Atlanta Open victory over Billy Harris (6-2, 6-2).

Tiafoe, meanwhile, is making his first appearance since his round of 32 exit to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon on July 5, where he lost in five sets.

The American has also had a tough first half of the year and has been beaten in four of his last six matches on hard courts. He might have enough to get past the challenge of Karatsev on Thursday but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the 26-year-old made to work for his win, particularly given the last two contests between these two players.

There were 26 games in Tiafoe's straight-set success over Karatsev in Washington as the Russian forced two tie-breaks, and there was another tie-break in Tokyo as Karatsev emerged victorious from a match featuring 22 total games.

WTA Prague - Linda Noskova (CZE) to beat Magda Linette (POL) 2-1 @ 11/4

My third and final pick from Thursday's action sees us arrive in the Czech Republic for the Prague Open, where two semi-finals are taking place today.

After Magdalena Frech and Laura Samson kick things off, Linda Noskova and Magda Linette do battle for a place in the final.

Playing in her homeland, 19-year-old Noskova is the betting favourite against her Polish counterpart, and it's no surprise given this is the teenager's third straight Prague Open semi-final.

Noskova has reached the final four of the competition with the minimum of fuss, beating Katarina Zavatska (6-3, 6-2) and Ella Seidel (6-1, 6-3) in straight sets either side of a match against Eva Lys (6-2, 2-1), where the German was forced to retire early on in the second set.

Linette, meanwhile, was forced to come through three sets against Viktoriya Tomova in Wednesday's quarter-final to reach the semi-final of the Prague Open for the first time.

The fourth seed now takes on the top seed for a place in the final and the 32-year-old can at least hold on to the fact that she has won the only previous head-to-head between the two, triumphing in straight sets (7-6, 6-1) at the 2023 Italian Open in Rome. That was also on clay, which should give Linette confidence that she can at least take a set of Noskova, who is due a bit of competition in Prague.

Ultimately, I expect Noskova to show her class and reach back-to-back finals, where she will hope to go one better than last year, but Linette should make life difficult for her on Thursday.

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