I don’t plan on getting too involved in the WTA action in Stuttgart and Istanbul for today.
Looking at the early matches on court at the time of writing, and it looks as though the favourites are off to a great start for today in Istanbul. I’d have liked to have seen Ana Bogdan on clay prior to this week before jumping in as a favourite, however she does look to be good value today against Hibino in Istanbul. The match between Ferro vs Martic is probably the match of the day, and will go a long way to deciding the quarter. I don’t mind the over 2.5 sets.
In Stuttgart, Alexandrova and Muchova going over the total games is worth consideration, however with Muchova having not played since the Australian Open, I am a little wary. It looks to be a favourite day in Stuttgart overall, with Siegemund at the minus handicap against Barthel another worth consideration. Sabalenka, Kontaveit and Friedsam should be all too strong at short odds.
In Barcelona, Cam Norrie looks to be the best chance of an upset for the day (early matches have already started). I am curious to see if Shapovalov has improved his clay consistency, and the youngsters in Musetti and Alcaraz are two I will be keeping an eye on.
There isn’t a lot of appeal in the Belgrade daily order of play for today. The match of the day for mine is Bagnis vs Kecmanovic, which looks to shape up as a longer match in a similar way to Ferro/Martic.
Players I like to win, but cannot take their handicap:
– Djere
– Kontaveit
– Friedsam
– Musetti
– Alcaraz
– Goffin
– Bogdan
– Mertens
– Siegemund