WTA LUXEMBORG
BOUCHARD TO BEAT BABOS @ 6-5 BETVICTOR, SKYBET, BETWAY
WTA MOSCOW
MERTENS TO BEAT KONTA @ 6-5 SKYBET, LADBROKES, BETViCTOr, CORAL
Head-to-head is tied 1-1 with each winning a match this season so far, Konta has been in desperate form recently winning only 3 of her last 10 matches and looks like she cannot wait for the season to end. Mertens reached the QF at Tianjin last week and will see this as an opportunity to cement her top 20 ranking with a good run here.
WTA LUXEMBOURG
LARSSON TO BEAT SINIAKOVA @ 3.25
Larsson does tend to excel on indoor hard courts where she feels very much at ease as shown by her career win-loss record of 103-47, the h2h record is tied at 2-2 but Larsson has won both meetings this season and 3.25 is far too high a price.
WTA LINZ
UYTVANCK TO BEAT GIORGI @ 13-10
Uytvanck has been in excellent form over the last 12 months on indoor hard courts with a 17-2 win-loss record compared to Giorgi’s 3-0, the serve stats favour Belgium with the return stats favouring Giorgi but I am going with Uytvanck as on this surface this week she has looked at ease and her record backs that up and despite Giorgi leading the h2h 2-0 Uytvanck is the value here.
WTA LINZ
ALEXANDRANOVA TO BEAT SINIAKOVA @ 2.38
Both are very much at home on indoor hard courts but Alexandranova has the edge having won her two matches here already and although Siniakova is very much in form the fact she reached the QF at Wuhan and the beaten finalist at Beijing means the amount of tennis has a danger of catching up with her and against a very capable opponent who is at ease in conditions then I have to favour Alexandranova here at generous odds.
WTA HONG KONG
SHARIPOVA TO BEAT ZHANG @ 5
Sharapova had a fantastic middle part of the season where she reached 3 finals winning 2 and a quarter final on the ITF circuit, a reproduction of that form will make her price look huge here and worth taking a chance on it.
WTA TIANJIN
BOULTER TO BEAT SAKKARI @ 3.25 Sakkari has looked in poor form in her last two tournaments losing in straight sets, Boulter beat Riske and Vecino at Beijing before losing narrowly 7-5 to Flipkens in the third set. And one of my favourite tournaments of the year from Tuesday onwards at Linz
WTA WUHAN
GAVRILOVA TO BEAT STRYCOVA @ 11-10
Strycova leads the head to head 2-0, neither has been in great form recently but the statistics for holding serve and breaking serve are nearly identical. Gavrilova has the more ability if she is on form and I am taking her to finish the season strongly
KERBER TO BEAT KEYS @ 11-10
Kerber leads the head to head 7-2, Kerbers return game will be key here
WTA TASHKENT
KOSTYUK TO BEAT RUS @ 11-10
20-6 compared to 18-11 shows Kostyuk is very much at home on hard courts, she has the better return game than Rus and If Rus serve is a little off then she will be vulnerable as that is a huge weapon to her game.
ZVONAREVA TO BEAT ZIDANSEK @ 11-10
Zidansek is better on clay courts, Zvonareva is a better hard court player and although not operating at the level of old she should have too much nous for Zidansek who is excellent on clay but looks vulnerable on hard courts
KALINSKAYA TO BEAT DANILOVIC @ EVENS
Danilovic has had an excellent season but the majority of her victories have been on clay with a 33-9 record but she does not look as happy on hard courts and against a very exciting player in Kalinskaya then I have to favour the Russian who I expect to be far more comfortable on the surface.
GASPARYAN TO BEAT MARIA @ EVENS
Gasprayan holds serve and break her opponent more than her opponent who really is not happy on hard courts as her record of 9 wins 13 losses in the last 12 months compared to her opponents 20-8 record and she has to be avoided here
WTA GUANGZHOU
PERA TO BEAT PUTINTSEVA @ 21-20
Pera leads the head to head 1-0 having won last month at the US Open and I see no reason why the result will be any different today, as she has more power than Putintseva and I would expect her to make inroads on her opponents serve regularly
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
PERA 66.4% 34.6%
PUTINTSEVA 59.5% 37%
WTA SEOUL
BEGU TO BEAT SAKKARI @ 7-4
Begu leads the head to head 1-0 winning on hard court in 2016 at Miami. This is the first bit of form Begu has showed for weeks impressively beating Barthel and Radwanska dropping just 9 and 7 games respectively in her straight sets wins. Sakkari reached the final at San Jose end of July but since then her form has dipped although she won her first two matches here in impressive fashion although one was against clay specialist Schmiedlova and a not 100% fit Gasprayan
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
BEGU 63% 35%
SAKKARI 63% 39.9%
WTA Tokyo
Vanderweghe To Beat Barty @ 5-2
Riske To Beat Bouchard @ 11-10
Diyas To Beat Strycova @ 11-10
Vekic To Beat Stephens @ 7-4
Pavlyuchenkova To Beat Garcia @ 6-5
Cibulkova To Beat Osaka @ 2-1
WTA HIROSHIMA
KOZLOVA TO BEAT DIYAS @ 4.40
Diyas leads the head to head 2-1, stats are very similar so to be getting 4.40 on Kozlova is a crazy price and one I am more than happy to accept
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
KOZLOVA 65.2% 40.2%
DIYAS 64.7% 40.3%
ZIDANSEK TO BEAT LINETTE @ 2.55
Zidansek leads the head to head 2-0 but these were both on clay, Zidansek has struggled to replicate her clay form on hard courts on the main tour but dropping Down to the ITF tour she is every bit as good and if she can start to translate that then she will make inroads on this surface on the main tour. Linette while a neat and accomplished player does not have the power to hit through Zidansek here and I expect the younger player to settle into this match and make the head to head 3-0
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
ZIDANSEK 66.4% 46.8%
LINETTE 67.0% 35.5%
WTA HIROSHIMA
ZHENG TO BEAT RISKE @ 2.5
Riske leads the head to head 4-1 but on hard courts she leads 2-1, Zheng’s aggressive return game will be key here as Riske does not have a big serve
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
ZHENG 61.1% 43.6%
RISKE 64.3% 35.8%
LARSSON TO BEAT LINETTE @ 2.10
Head to head is tied at 1-1, stats are very close and I just favour Larsson who although not been in great form does have the greater weight of shot and if she can find some form then she will be too powerful for Linette
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
LARSSON 63.5% 34.5%
LINETTE 67.4% 35%
MINELLA TO BEAT NARA @ 2.20
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
MINELLA 63.5% 33.4%
NARA 57.9% 42.1%
HIBINO TO BEAT BOUCHARD @ 2.50 Hibino leads the head to head 1-0
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
HIBINO 64.2% 33.8%
BOUCHARD 65.3% 37%
HERCOG TO BEAT HSIEH @ 2.75
Hercog leads the head to head 2-1
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
HERCOG 63% 30.7%
HSIEH 60.8% 40.6%
WTA QUEBEC
MCHALE TO BEAT YASTREMSKA @ 3.0
Yastremska while having a lot of potential is still very inconsistent and far too short a price against a proven, consistent opponent
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
MCHALE 63.5% 38.5%
YASTREM 68.2% 37.5%
DAY TO BEAT KARANTANTCHEVA @ 2.55
Day leads the head to head 2-0
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
DAY 64.3% 34.5%
KARANT 55.9% 46.3%
MARINO TO BEAT MARIA @ 3.0
Marino leads the head to head 1-0
HOLD SERVE BREAK SERVE
MARINO 78.1% 34.2%
MARIA 62% 34%
