Tennis Picks Today: 5 Best Bets & Predictions Ft. Alex de Minaur vs Luciano Darderi, Casper Ruud vs Alexei Popyrin | May 21, 2026
Jan 27, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Alex de Minaur of Australia in action against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. © Mike Frey-Imagn Images This week’s tennis action continues with raging speed, and today, Australia’s Alex de Minaur is scheduled to face Italy’s Luciano Darderi at the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Open, while Norway’s Casper Ruud will face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin at the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open. An all-American clash will also take place between Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen in Geneva.
Elsewhere, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, Emma Navarro will take on Zhang Shuai from China, while Canadian Leylah Fernandez will face countrywoman Victoria Mboko. Here are our top best picks, alongside a brief analysis of what the outcome from today’s quarterfinals segment would be. Top Tennis Picks and Best Bets Alex de Minaur vs Luciano Darderi (Darderi -102) In Hamburg, Alex de Minaur will battle Luciano Darderi for the first time after de Minaur beat Alejandro Fokina 6-2, 4-6, and 6-4, while Darderi defeated Roman Burruchaga 6-3 and 7(7)-6(4).
While Darderi has never reached Hamburg’s semifinals, de Minaur has never won an ATP title on clay. Seeded No. 3, de Minaur has massively struggled on clay, with only five wins on the red surface this year, while Darderi has won four ATP titles on clay since 2024.
While de Minaur relies on a defensive game plan, the clay gives an advantage to Darderi to use his slow baseline game, alongside using his heavy topspin that could force the Australian to play an attacking game, pushing him out of his signature style. Expect Darderi to win in straight sets. Casper Ruud vs Alexei Popyrin (Ruud -325) In Geneva, Casper Ruud will face Alexei Popyrin for the third time.
Ruud beat Germany’s Raphael Collignon 7(7)-6(2) and 6-2, while Popyrin beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. While Popyrin is yet to reach the semifinal stage of a clay court event since 2023, Ruud has been a constant winner in Geneva with three titles. If Ruud can neutralize Popyrin’s heavy shots, he can win in 2 sets.
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