The First Serve: DraftKings DFS Tennis Picks for 1/4/2022 (Adelaide & Melbourne Day 3)

Hey there, RotoBallers! I am Brandon Wampler and I have been playing Tennis DFS since the beginning! I hope you caught my Otte underdog pick here at RotoBaller yesterday and that you had some success navigating a mismatch of a Day 4 at the Open. Otte was definitely needed to be able to ship a GPP yesterday.

Welcome back and hopefully you are all over your holiday slumps and rest! Now it is time to kick it into gear for the Aussie Open with Tennis back!!! We will have a nice 24-match slate with a few prime matchups and a few value spots to expose

In this article, you will find my favorite high-priced, mid-tier, and cheap plays for the DraftKings DFS Tennis slate on Tuesday, January 4th, 2022. Without any further ado, let's get into the picks!

High Priced DFS Tennis Picks ($10K+)

Destanee Aiava DK: $4,200 vs SImona Halep DK: $10,500

This is a girl playing amongst women matchup with Halep taking the cake. Aiava has barely touched the WTA Tour yet and although she favorites the HC surface, she has not been too successful so far and her only match against Halep was a loss on HC. This is one of the slam dunks of the slate with a win in straight sets.

Expected Outcome: Halep 2-0

Mid-Tier DFS Tennis Picks ($8K-$10K)

Madison Brengle DK:$9,400 vs Nao Hibino DK:$6,000

Brengle is yet another expected slam dunk on the slate at a solid salary of $9.4K. The American has proven she can play with just about anyone and she has also won nine of her last ten matches, while Hibino has only won three of her last ten. Both players favorite the HC surface, but Hibino has struggled for success lately, highlighting her poor 1/9 record last season. If you want to pay down and still have the chance for straight sets, Brengle is a fantastic option.

Expected Outcome: Brengle 2-0

Henri Laaksonen DK:$8,800 vs Benoit Paire DK:$6,600

There are two capable winners in this range between Big Kev Anderson and Laaksonen, however, Laaksonen slightly edges Big Kev out due to his safe play. Anderson is a gas can for the most part, but he can provide you a higher ceiling if he pans out, meanwhile Laaksonen will take his steady approach and dominant history over a poor inform Paire. The only concern is Paire surprisingly sports a 12.6 Ace For percentage and a 5.7% Ace Against percentage. 

Expected Outcome: Laaksonen 2-0

Cheap Favorites ($7K-$8K)

Frances Tiafoe(4) DK:$8,200 vs Thanasi Kokkinakis DK:$7,200

With the final match of the slate, we have inform Kokkinakis. The Aussie is prepping for his battle on home turf in a few weeks and he seems to be kicking it into high gear perfect timing. Frances Tiafoe is surely no slouch, but if Kokkinakis can show the same form against Millman, he will walk away with the win. Kokkinakis not only dominates with his serve, sporting a stellar 14.9 Ace For percentage, but he is also on par with Tiafoe in his return game too.

Expected Outcome: Kokkinakis 2-1

The Dog House (Underdog Values)

Maria Sakkari(3) DK:$9,500 vs Shelby Rogers DK:$5,800

Yet another big name that will warrant play from most of the players, but Rogers is equally as good lately. Yet another American who has played with the best of the best, Rogers certainly has what it takes to play with a dominant Sakkari. This will be a close match and it would not hurt to have shares of either, but I will be siding with the dog more than anything. Sakkari has proven that she has inconsistencies and paying for it at that price is a hard pill to swallow.

Expected Outcome: Rogers 2-1

Katerina Siniakova(8) DK:$9,200 vs Anna Bondar DK:$6,100

One of the bigger pickems of the slate we have Bondar and Siniakova. Siniakova has been hit or miss for a few years now and it is extremely hard to predict what she will do. However, if there is on tall tale sign, it is her poor HC form over the past few seasons. Bondar does not support a greatly successful HC career, but she at least performs better. They are both CC specialists and it will come down to who can transition to a more attack-heavy approach.

Expected Outcome: Bondar 2-1

ATP Rankings

All Rankings are adjusted by stats, form, and history

Worst 0 - 20 Best

• Laaksonen-14
• Anderson-13.5
• Russuvuori-10
• Moutet-9.5
• Kokkinakis-8.5
• Popyrin-8.5
• Kwon-8
• Cilic-4.5
• Cressy-3.5

WTA Rankings

All Rankings are adjusted by stats, form, and history

Worst 0 - 20 Best

• Halep-19
• Zhu-19
• Brengle-18.5
• Rybakina-13.5
• Pattinama-9.5
• Potapova-9
• Bondar-8.5
• Peterson-8.5
• Sasnovich-8.5
• Minnen-8
• Barty-8
• Zhang-4.5
• Rogers-3.5
• Kostyuk-3
• Kalinskaya-3

Thanks for reading The First Serve! Good luck in all of your contests today! If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions