tennis | Thursday, February 16, 2023 10:05 AM (Revised at: Thursday, February 16, 2023 10:44 AM)

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Buenos Aires, Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas

Jon Reid

Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas Best Bet: Thursday, February 16th

Lovely stuff from Tallon Griekspoor, who dropped the first set, but found his rhythm on serve in the final two sets and was able to wait out opportunities on return from Alexander Zverev to pick up the win as a 3.20 odds underdog.

For Thursday’s men’s selection, we’ll look to the dirt courts in South America and the match between Dominic Thiem and Juan Pablo Varillas.

In this article:

Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas Preview
Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas Best Bet

Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas Preview

February 16th, 16:30 (UK Time)

Does it ever look like Thiem is happy to be back on clay. After a tough opening round match that saw Alex Molcan play some incredible tennis and make the Austrian play some phenomenal tennis to advance, Thiem surely has some confidence heading into Thursday’s tilt against Varillas.

It’s a different type of opponent, with Varillas being a righty and more prone to trying to play attacking tennis through his forehand, rather than play side-to-side defensive and counterpunching tennis like the Slovak Thiem had to beat in the opening round.

That should bode well for the one-time top-3 player in the world. He’s not one to shy away from going toe-to-toe in a heavy hitting, heavy topspin kind of matchup. And even without being at his peak, he still has far more to offer from both wings than Varillas, while also being the more consistent player from the baseline.

The fact he’s had a day off since that primetime win over Molcan is also reassuring and knocks the risk of fatigue down a bit.

Without that, it’s hard to see what the 27-year-old Challenger Tour journeyman can really do to trouble Thiem.

Dominic Thiem vs Juan Pablo Varillas Best Bet

Much like we saw Sebastian Baez snap a nasty run of form by returning to the clay courts of Cordoba, I think we have a good chance of seeing Thiem do the same for at least another match in the Argentinian capital.

I understand he may still not be back to his best, but this is still an incredible clay-court talent and to make him just a 3-game favourite on the handicap in a matchup he should actually fare well in is simply incorrect in my books.

I’m happy to back him here at the given handicap and odds.