There was a break in our regular “this week on courts” report for two weeks. We skipped weeks 03 and 04 because most of the players stayed in Melbourne hotels undergoing necessary quarantine.
Of course, ATP Challengers and some ITF tournaments were played, and we earned some extra cash on that [check our tennis tips portfolio here].
Nevertheless, the fifth week of 2021 will reward all of us waiting for a great piece of tennis. We will see two ATP tournaments, three WTA tournaments, and ATP Cup, all played in Melbourne.
Read below the schedule for the following week of tennis. We appreciate mainly the anonymous person who was so creative in naming those five tournaments in Melbourne.
Tennis Week 05/2021
WTA 500 Gippsland trophy (WTA Melbourne #1)
January 31 – February 6
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $565 530
Draw size: 54
Draw date: January 29
Who to watch: Halep, Osaka, Svitolina, Sabalenka, Sviatek
Our worth the money call: Osaka would be a natural choice, but watch out Elise Mertens.
WTA 500 Yarra Valley Classic (WTA Melbourne #2)
January 31 – February 6
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $565 530
Draw size: 54
Draw date: January 29
Who to watch: Barty, Kenin, Pliskova, Kvitova, Serena Williams
Our worth the money call: Ferro – she is definitely not the biggest name on the list but I am really curious. She is really promising and I believe she can make a big move this season. However, Barty at home courts can be unbeatable.
ATP 250 Great Ocean Road Open (ATP Melbourne #1)
February 1 – February 7
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $311 665
Draw size: 56
Draw date: January 30
Who to watch: Goffin, Hurkacz, Sinner
Our worth the money call: Hurkacz – he already proved in Delray Beach he can do things this year.
ATP 250 Murray River Open (ATP Melbourne #2)
February 1 – February 7
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $373 465
Draw size: 56
Draw date: January 30
Who to watch: Wawrinka, Dimitrov, Cilic, Auger-Aliassime
Our worth the money call: Kyrgios – we did not see him play for a long time, but he had the advantage to fully practice as Australian. That should be a big advantage.
ATP Cup (Team Event)
February 2 – February 6
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $7 500 000
Draw size: 12 teams
ATP Cup second edition will be played in Melbourne. Twelve teams will be divided into four groups of three.
Winners of groups will advance to the knock-out semi-finals.
Group A: Serbia (Djokovic, Lajovic), Germany (Zverev A., Struff), Canada (Shapovalov, Raonic)
Group B: Spain (Nadal, Bautista-Agut), Greece (Tsitsipas, Pervolarakis), Australia (De Minaur, Millman)
Group C: Austria (Thiem, Novak), Italy (Berrettini, Fognini), France (Monfils, Paire)
Group D: Russia (Medvedev, Rublev), Argentina (Schwartzman, Pella), Japan (Nishikori, Nishioka)
Who to watch: Twelve players from ATP Top 13
Our worth the money call: Spain, Canada, and Russia look like teams with a most balanced line-up. They will not rely just on the number one player, but second-team members can bring wins. If I have to pick only one team with the most exciting odds, I will go with Russia.
WTA 500 Grampians Trophy (WTA Melbourne #3)
February 3 – February 7
Surface: Hard
Financial Commitment: $565 530
Draw size: 28
Draw date: February 1
This tournament is just for players that had to stay in rigid quarantine.
Who to watch: Bencic, Azarenka, Rybakina
Our worth the money call: Rybakina – I believe that younger players accommodate to play with no practice easily
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Next Week (06/2021) Schedule:
Australian Open 2021 (February 8 – February 21)
Full coverage of Australian Open 2021:
Who will win Australian Open 2021
Australian Open 2021 Racket Brands Shares
Bold Tennis Predictions 2021