Sabalenka vs Kasatkina (Approx 08:30pm AEST)
It looks to be a bit of a tricky day today, with a number of underdogs appealing at value prices. One that appeals at such a price is Daria Kasatkina.
Even when her form and confidence was at its lowest point last year, Kasatkina still found a way to beat Aryna Sabalenka on hardcourt in Beijing last year. Fast forward a year, and with Kasatkina undefeated over the last week in completed matches (lost via retirement to Azarenka), the Russian will be confident coming into this match.
I am a big fan of opposing Sabalenka with counterpunching types, and we have another spot here today where it is a suitable approach. I stayed out of Kasatkina’s first round match as I was unsure regarding her fitness. She looked good to me in a 6-2 6-1 win over Harmony Tan, and will have taken a lot of confidence from her tennis over the last couple of weeks on clay.
Sabalenka is coming off a 3 set loss to Elina Svitolina (another solid counterpunching player) in Strasbourg last week, and was dominant in a 6-3 6-1 victory over Jessica Pegula, who does not seem to love the clay. Interestingly, Sabalenka only won 54% of points on her first serve, however her second serve and return game saved the day.
Like we saw in Beijing last year, I think Kasatkina has the right mix of counterpunching, court coverage and craft to be able to significantly challenge Sabalenka. I will keep this play to one unit, however I am very keen on the upset here.
Suggested Bet
1 unit Kasatkina to defeat Sabalenka at $2.51 at Topsport
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO PUBLC – It is free and will support the ongoing work of Ace Previews
You will notice the preview takes you to a page via a new search engine called PUBLC, who have approached me regarding uploading my content to their search engine. The more people that sign up to a free account and continue to read my work, the more accessible I will be able to make my content moving forward.
Creating an account takes 30 seconds, however it will allow your support of my work to be ongoing. . Please ensure you are signed in when clicking through to my articles. Your support is greatly appreciated.
For more information on PUBLC, click here.