Plenty to keep an eye on today with last year’s finalists (Swiatek and Anisimova) both in action along with major champions Rybakina and Keys. With the seeded plays starting to face off the quality of tennis will go to another level.
Anisimova made the final twelve months ago but she will need to beat some very accomplished players to get back there. This is the 3rd time in her last 4 matches that she will face a fellow American. She lost to Jovic in Queen’s but 20 aces helped her win a deciding set match tiebreaker against Kenin. This one will be a battle between two of the biggest serves on the WTA Tour which means long sets, tight games and numerous high-pressure points. With that in mind, like Keys to come out on top as she has won her last 7 matches and 12 of her last 14.
Best Bet: Keys WIN ($1.73)
Regular followers will be aware of the criticism of Mertens – her consistent failures in the first weekend at the Grand Slam. Deserves credit for her consistency in the early stages but has lost in either the 3rd or 4th Round in 15 of her last 22 major appearances. Dating further back, that number reads 23 of 33! This is the period where the seeded players begin to face off and her game does not stack up against the women who can control the outcome of the contest with their own racquet. Rybakina falls into that category and it is no surprise that she has won 7 of the 8 meetings between them. Their most recent clash came at the Australian Open earlier this year with Rybakina barely raising a sweat in a routine 6-1 6-3 win. This one will not be close.
Best Bet: Rybakina -4.5 ($1.90)
As expected, Swiatek made mince meat of the Pliskova second serve winning almost 75% of 2nd serve return points. She improved to 4-0 in the H2H with a 6-1 6-3 win but a battle against Eala provides a different set of problems. Most notably, Eala is a lefty who has been able to cause Swiatek problems in the past. Eala scored an upset win in their first meeting in Miami lasty year (6-2 7-5) and was able to break the Swiatek serve 8 times! Their other clash came on clay in Madrid with Eala taking the first set before Swiatek found her best tennis to win. Expecting them to trade breaks of serve throughout the match which gives Eala a great chance to cause an upset.
Best Bet: Eala +4.5 ($1.83)
Value Bet: Eala WIN ($3.70)
This was supposed to be the final season of Cirstea’s career but she continues to win matches. She has climbed to a career high no.18 and will likely improve on that now that she is in the 3rd Round. Noskova will be a difficult test as the Czech just won the title in Berlin – beating the likes of Eala and Pegula who like her, are making plenty of noise this week. This will be the 6th meetings between them with four of those clashes coming this year! Cirstea has won 3 their 4 battles this season including a straight sets win in Rome in their most recent clash. With both women in career-best form, can see this one going the distance.
Best Bet: Over 21.5 games ($1.80)
Anisimova v Keys: Keys WIN ($1.73)
Cirstea v Noskova: Over 21.5 games
Eala v Swiatek: Eala +4.5 ($1.83)
Mertens v Rybakina: Rybakina -4.5
Navarro v Kostyuk: Navarro WIN ($2.10)
Paolini v Sakkari: Paolini WIN ($1.80)
Samsonova v Bouzkova: Bouzkova WIN
Snigur v Krueger: Krueger WIN ($1.83)
