tennis | Monday, January 30, 2023 9:29 AM (Revised at: Monday, January 30, 2023 12:32 PM)

Monday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Lyon, Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio

Jon Reid

Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio Best Bet: Monday, January 30th

Well, a big win for Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open to finally get that first grand slam victory she deserves. One of the brightest talents in the sport, so it was nice to see her rewarded down under.

Now we’re back to the daily grind, with a pair of 250-level events going on this week – one in Hua Hin, Thailand and the other taking place indoors in Lyon, France. Then there’s also a clay-court tournament at the 125K level being played in Colombia.

For Monday’s selection, we’ll preview the match between Alize Cornet and Camila Osorio.

In this article:

Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio Preview
Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio Best Bet

Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio Preview

January 30th, 12:00 (UK Time)

It hasn’t been the best start to the year for the veteran Frenchwoman, but there are several reasons to believe in her in this match. From the venue, to the conditions, to motivation, Cornet has all the reason in the world to succeed.

For starters, the surface – especially the speed of these particular indoor hard courts – is far more suited to her game. She doesn’t necessarily generate a ton of power, but she has far more experience in these conditions and has won more matches in these kinds of environments.

Then there’s the fact that the crowd will surely be at her back, and the motivation for her to succeed is there, seeing as she just watched quarterfinal points from the 2022 Australian Open drop from her ranking and she went out in the first round in this year’s edition of the tournament.

Finally, the matchup is also a tough one for Osorio. While her movement and court coverage are elite, statistically, she isn’t very strong on hard courts at tour level over the course of the last year, and much of that success has come on Mexican hard courts, which are known to be on the much slower end of the court speed scale.

Cornet can also match her consistency and mixes up her game very well with variety.

Alize Cornet vs Camila Osorio Best Bet

There is no doubt that it hasn’t been the smoothest start to the 2023 season for the 33-year-old, but looking at her losses, there isn’t really a bad one to point at.

She lost to eventual Australian Open quarterfinalist in Donna Vekic – whose massive serve and forehand are effective on the quick Australian courts. Her second loss was to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who was an eventual finalist in that week, playing inspired tennis in Hobart. Finally, she lost to Leylah Fernandez, a top-50 calibre player and one of the brighter young talents in the sport.

I’m fine backing her against someone who has questionable metrics and lacks a track record on quicker courts.