TODAY’S BESTBET Holger Rune to win Open Sud de France

IT IS a jam-packed week on both the ATP and WTA tours with the hard-court season continuing apace around the world.

The dust has now settled on the Australian Open, but players who impressed in Melbourne at the end of January are worth keeping an eye on this week.

Holger Rune breezed through the first three rounds at Melbourne Park before losing a tight five-set tussle with Andrey Rublev, and he has been awarded top seeding for the Open Sud de France in Montpellier after his decent showing down under.

He is unlikely to stay down for long and can draw confidence from his fine showing on the indoor hard courts at the end of 2022 ahead of his trip to the south of France.

Rune won 20 of his 22 indoor matches between September and November last year, a run which included a title triumph at the Paris Masters, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final.

The Dane’s biggest threat in Montpellier is likely be second seed Jannik Sinner, but the Italian crashed out in the first round of this event in both 2020 and 2021 so Rune makes greater appeal.

Elsewhere on the ATP Tour, American talents Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe take to the hard courts in Dallas, while the clay-court season begins in earnest in Cordoba, Argentina, with defending champion Albert Ramos Vinolas and experienced Argentinian Diego Schwartzman among those in action.

The Abu Dhabi Open is the highlight of this week’s WTA tournaments with Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina 7-2 favourite to gain some compensation in the UAE.

However, Swiss star Belinda Bencic could represent better value at 6-1.

Bencic made the fourth round of the Australian Open before running into eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka and she has shown an affinity for playing in the Middle East, winning the Dubai Tennis Championship in 2019.

Bencic could meet top seed Rybakina at the semi-final stage but the head-to-head record between the players stands at one win apiece, so everything looks up for grabs should they clash.