POTAPOVA TO BEAT STOJANOVIC @ 11-10
Potapova is a former junior world number one and while not too much can be read into the junior tour results the fact she won junior Wimbledon in 2016 shows that she has a liking for the surface and odds against just seem wrong to me.
BRENGLE TO BEAT KOSTYUK @ 9-4
Brengle is a safe and steady player and should be too consistent for Kostyuk
Also Wimbledon outright bets below as I think these prices could shorten in the next few days
WIMBLEDON OUTRIGHT WINNER
Both had impressive first round wins but Hercog is the more accomplished player on clay and providing she can make inroads into Garcia’s serve then her odds look very generous
Tauson to beat Azarenka @ 13-8
Tauson has the power to unsettle Azarenka and with Azarenka’s ongoing back problem I am more than happy to take a chance on her dangerous young opponent
Kasatkina to beat Bencic @ 11-10 (NAP)
Kasatkina is by far the better player on clay and should come through this match
Pavlyuchenkova V Tomljanovic Over 22.5 Games @ 6-5
Both evenly matched and unpredictable so likely to see three sets here
Gracheva to beat Giorgi @ 13-10
Giorgi wonderfully erratic, she rarely plays two points the same let alone a whole match, Gracheva will be the more consistent here and providing she keeps her unforced error count down then she is good value to sneak through.
Kalinina been superb on clay, albeit at a lower level than this but Kerber has struggled for consistency and odds are wrong.
Burel to beat Kovinic 10-13
Collins to beat Wang 4-5
2.26-1 Double
Kuznetsova + 4.5 Games to beat Azarenka 21-20
Kuznetsova while not the players she once was, she is more than capable on clay and should be able to keep this contact closer than the handicap.
TUESDAY
Sevastova to beat Brady 68-67
Sevastova more at home on clay and I think she will prove too strong for Brady on the dirt.
Andreescu V Zidansek Over 22.5 Games @ 5-4
Bertens V Hercog Over 22.5 Games @ 6-5
Arrubarrena V Gracheva Over 22.5 Games @ 5-4
The following three matches are all very closely matched and I can see them all going three sets or worst case scenario two very tight sets, all players very much at home on clay and happy to grind out matches.
Alexandrova to beat Pegula @ 11-8
Tight match and Alexandranova has the better career record on clay and I feel the odds are the way way around.
Zvonareva to beat Pliskova @ 13-10
Zvonareva’s defensive sills can keep the rallies long here and the surface is a leveller as it is Pliskova’s least favourite as tends to negate her serve somewhat.
Muguruza -1.5 Games to beat Svitolina @ Evens
Muguruza leads the head to head 7-5 and on clay she leads 2-0 winning both those matches in straight sets and covering this handicap easily.
Krejcikova + 4.5 Games to beat Swiatek @ EvensKrejcikova has played well in her two matches here and her variation can cause Swiatek some problems early in this game.
Bertens has reached the final on her last two approaches in Madrid and although she has struggled since her injury she is the better clay court player as shown by her career record of 184-71 compared to Kudermetova 68-48 career record. Kudermetova is in the better recent form certainly but in my opinion this has been overplayed in the respective odds and Bertens is far too big a price here.
Both have been in poor form of late, Keys leads the head to head 2-1 on clay it is one win a piece and both places are fairly evenly matched so I have to go for Pavlyuchenkova at generous odds as her flat hitting can expose Keys movement which can be suspect.
BADOSA TO BEAT KREJCIKOVA @ 11-10
Never bet before but both are happy on clay I just feel Bados’a greater weight of shot will be able to overpower the greater variation of Krejcikova in what should be a tight encounter.
Cornet is far too unreliable to be taking odds on about especially against a player who is very much at home on clay and faster clay of Charleston.
VIKHLYANTSEVA V DIYAS OVER 21.5 GAMES @ EVENS
PETKOVIC TO BEAT PUTINTSEVA @ 7-4
DAVIS V BRENGLE OVER 22.5 GAMES @ 5-4
Two players lacking power but happy to grind out results here points to overs
WTA BOGOTA
FRIEDSAM V TOMOVA OVER 22.5 GAMES @ 6-5
SCHMIEDLOVA V BOLSOVA OVER 21.5 GAMES @ EVENS
Both players are happy on clay with Schmiedlova coming back into the sort of for of three/ four years ago when she was a force on clay, Bolsova is also at home on clay and while Schmieldova should come through I suspect it will be tighter than the odds suggest.
ZIDANSEK V KALINSKAYA OVER 21.5 GAMES @ EVENS
Zidansek leads the head to head 1-0 winning last season in straight sets on hard courts, both are happy on clay courts as shown by career win loss records of 57-33 for Kalinskaya and 107-40 for Zidansek.
I was just seven years of age. A 70s child with long hair, shirts with big collars and my favourite toy was an action man with flexible hands.
For horse racing fans it was a vintage year. A historic day when Red Rum, trained by Ginger McCain, in the ownership of Noel Le Mare, won the Grand National for the third time ridden by Tommy Stack.
It was a day when a legend came into being. Red Rum the only horse to win the National three times (1973, 1974 & 1977).
The 1977 Grand National was historic for another. It was the first time a female jockey competed. Charlotte Brew rode her own horse Barony Fort . This was as much to do with the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Horse and jockey qualified for entry of the Grand National because Barony Fort finished fourth in the Fox Hunters Chase.
He refused to jump the 27th fence, just four fences from competing the most grueling contest for horse and jockey.
However, her achievement paved the way for female riders to compete at the highest level.
Times are changing, for the better.
The old days of limitation which saw hundreds of male jockeys ride to success are being surpassed by a league of female riders who relish the opportunity to compete.
Katie Walsh has set the level for others to achieve after she finished third on Seabass in the 2012 Grand National.
Watch this fascinating video detailed by Betway which tells the history of female jockeys in the Grand National.
It's only a matter of time before the Grand National tells its greatest story. The first female jockey to win the race of races.
Get ready for the Aintree Grand National on the 10th April 2021.
Pliskova has struggled for form this season and lost twice to Pegula this season both in straight sets and both easily but in her last match here there was shoots of recovery as she served well and her groundstrokes seemed to have more fizz about them and her best form is better than Pegula and at today’s generous odds she is worth taking a chance on to continue her recovery into form.
SAMSONOVA TO BEAT SAKKARI @ 11-5
Samsonova has been in excellent form of late especially in her last two matches here beating Giorgi and Bertens both in straight sets and could overpower Sakkari here at generous odds.
AJLA TOMLVANOVIC + 4.5 GAMES TO BEAT NAOMI OSAKA @ 8-5
Osaka has been in stunning form pretty much winning everything she competes in but has not played since winning the Australian Open so there is a chance she will be a little rusty, Tomljanovic has a good serve and powerful groundstrokes although she can become a little hesitant at the pressure points during a match but she defeated her highly regarded opponent Potapova in straight sets here and I am happy to take a chance at generous odds that she can keep it close against Osaka.
PAULA BADOSA GIBERT + 3.5 GAMES TO BEAT ONS JABEUR @ 21-20
Badosa leads the head to head 1-0 winning in three sets back at the US Open in 2015. Gibert will look to take the game away from Jabeur with her attacking ground strokes and I expect this to be a close match with Jabeur’s defensive skills and her variation keeping her in the match so am happy to take Gibert with the handicap.
CIRSTEA + 3.5 GAMES TO BEAT ANETT KONTAVEIT @ 27-20
Kontaveit leads the head to head 3-0 although two of these matches have been close tewo set matches losing by just four games.When Cirstea is good she can be very good as her all out attacking game and decent serve can cause opponents huge problems the problem being she is so inconsistent. Kontaveit hits the ball flat and hard and it will likely be a match of few rallies and the head to head shows it will likely be close and with a little bit of luck Cirstea can keep it close enough to cover her handicap.
JUVAN V TORMO OVER 21.5 GAMES @ 11-10 WILLIAM HILL
Both have recent 7-3 win loss records and record on hard courts over recent times are Tormo 19-14 Juvan 18-9. Juvan holds serve on average 10% more than Tormo on hard courts but this is slightly offset by the fact that Tormo has an excellent return game and breaks her opponent on average 7% more often than Juvan. This has the makings of a very close match and one that should cover the totals.
OUTRIGHT - Looks a wide open tournament but unfortunately two of the players I fancy to lift the trophy are drawn against each other in the first round! Kristina Mladenovic has a good record here having won the tournament in 2017 and being a runner up in 2018 her strong serve suits this service and despite not being in great recent form she is the type of player who just pulls a shock result out of the bag. Margarita Gasparyan has an excellent indoor hard courts win loss record of 78-39 throughout her career and unfortunate her career has been stalled by injuries but she still has a 55-30 win los record in her home country and is more than capable of going on a run here and unfortunately she faces Maldenovic in her first match but instead of choosing which player to pick I am just accepting one goes out here as at the prices I am happy to accept that. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is another player with an excellent 84-39 indoor hard court win loss record and in her home country she also has a good 47-24 win loss record and has to be on the shortlist to go far here.
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA 10-1
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC 25-1
MARGARITA GASPARYAN 50-1
KASATKINA V TAUSON OVER 22.5 GAMES @ 6-5
Both have excellent indoor hard court records and both been in very good form with Tauson winning her last two tournaments she has competed in and also winning two matches here so far although I am a little weary of all the recent tennis catching up with her a little. Kasatkina also won a tournament in Australia although she did lose in the first round in Dubai in her most recent tournament. I think this has the makings of a 3 set match with Tauson starting fast before Kasatkina coming on strongly in the latter part of the match.
ZAVATSKA V GASANOVA OVER 22.5 GAMES @ 59-50
Zavatska is more at home on clay as shown by her win loss record of 24-20, Gasanova has a win loss record of 20-19. Both players have very similar records and while I favour Gasanova for the win I think they are both very difficult to separate so overs is the value call here.
WTA MONTERRY OUTRIGHT -
Similar to St Petersburg this looks a wide open tournament as shown by 6-1 the field and I am going to go for a proven performer at big price to chance they have a going week and bounce into some form. The selection is HEATHER WATSON previous winner here in 2016 she has not played since Australian Open so will be well rested and although may be vulnerable in her first match as long as she comes through that then she has the consistent game in this field that could help her go far in the tournament as the field is made up of alot of unpredictable players.
HEATHER WATSON 20-1
ANN LI V ARANTXA RUS OVER 21.5 GAMES @ 2.21 (PINNACLE)
Li leads the head to head 1-0 winning in three sets at last years US Open, Li is more at home on hard courts as her win loss record shows but Rus has a good serve and although unlikely to win she should be able to keep this very tight and cover the total games.
KALINSKAYA V PODOROSKA OVER 21.5 GAMES @ 2.11 (PINNACLE)
Almost identical win loss % record on outdoor hard courts with Kalinskaya 9-8 over the last 12 months and 56-31 through her career compared to Podoroska 5-5 and 89-53 through her career. Kalinskaya hold serve around 6% more than her opponent but her opponents breaks on average 5% more often so all in it looks a very even contest so over is the call.
MUGURUZA V MERTENS OVER 21.5 GAMES @ 26-25 (UNIBET)
Muguruza leads the head to head 1-0 having won at the US Open back in 2016 in three sets. Both players had very tough matches yesterday coming through in three sets. Both were very similar in that they just waited for their opponent to drop their level a bit to then pounce and it happened when Mertens opponent Pegula was serving for the match and also happened when Muguruza’s opponent Sabalenka’s level just dropped mid way through the second set and Muguruza took advantage. Both players were playing good quality tennis and another tough match looks on the cards today. Statistics wise they are very similar with Muguruza 23-7 win loss records and Mertens 34-9 with hold of service games 75.3% compared to Mertens 74.1% and break of opponents Muguruza 44.2% compared to Mertens 45% over the last 12 months so everything points towards a tight match picking the winner is tough so the value call has to be overs as both players are mentally tough and wont be giving in at any point during the game.
