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Horse Racing Tennis Best Bet: Thursday March 10th
WTA Indian Wells: Osorio Serrano vs Sasnovich Best Bet
Thursday, 10th March, TBC (UK Time)
The ‘sunshine double’ returns to its traditional place in the tennis calendar after Covid-19 led to the postponement of the 2020 tournament and the 2021 edition took place last October. With first-round matches in Indian Wells kicking off on Wednesday for the Womens draw and Thursday for the Men’, there will be plenty of action across the rest of this week. Despite all the chaos due to a grand slam sized draw, I’ve been able to identify a value pick in one of the WTA Round 1 (R1) matches.
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano approaches Indian Wells in excellent form having reached the quarter-finals of Guadalajara and the final of Monterrey, where she was very unfortunate not to win the second WTA title of her career. These results, as well as an impressive end to her 2021 season, have led the Colombian to a career-high ranking of 35 in the world.
Osorio Serrano will enjoy the slightly slower courts at Indian Wells, which suit her game style more. Despite her slight stature, the 20-year-old packs a punch off both wings and has the ability to hit plenty of winners when the opportunity arises.
Her R1 opponent, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, is a similar player in that she prefers slower courts in order to use her craft and guile. Sasnovich too is capable of mixing up her game and being more aggressive – a style that helped her reach the fourth round of Indian Wells in 2021.
Interestingly, the pair faced off at the same stage in last year’s tournament, with Sasnovich comfortably winning in straight sets. This result may be factored into the price as Sasnovich goes off as short as 1.36 with some Bookmakers. Osorio Serrano is a much-improved player now though, and considering her recent form, I fancy her to at least take a set from her opponent in this R1 match-up.
- Selection: Osorio Serrano +1.5 sets handicap
- Odds: 1.92 (Marathonbet)
- Stakes: 7/10
Odds as at 2pm March 9th 2022. Odds may now differ
