Frankly, the talent gap between Emma Navarro and Elina Avanesyan is even bigger than the current odds suggest. The American’s Elo rating is sitting right at 1800 while Avanesyan is a good chunk of points behind with a rating of 1635. The gap only increases when we’re looking at hard courts. Here, Navarro is rated 200 points better (1736 to 1536).
After losing her first set of the year to Linda Fruhvirtova, Navarro got better and better, approaching her super solid form of 2023, where she ended on a 65-24 win-loss record. In the end, the 22-year-old beat the Czech teenager 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and seems to have arrived in 2024.
Avanesyan came here with a first-round win over local wild card Monique Barry, ranked #649 in the world, who actually served for the first set. After the US Open, Avanesyan’s only win came against another player outside of the top 500, Ren Yufei. She also lost to Amina Anshba, who’s best known for her moonballing, at the end of last year and finished 2023 with a 7-12 record on hard courts.
The wind in Auckland is calmer than usual this week, which should also play into the hands of Navarro, who I can hardly see losing a set to Avanesyan on a hard court all things considered.
Suggested Bets:
1u on Emma Navarro -1.5 sets at 1.87 (-115) with Unibet
Over 18s Only (21+ in some jurisdictions). 1 unit = 1% of bankroll. These are my bets that I am making. Please enjoy your betting responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and do not chase a loss.