tennis | Thursday, April 20, 2023 7:54 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Stuttgart, Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia

Jon Reid

Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Best Bet: Thursday, April 20th

As expected, it was a closer match between Elena Rybakina and Jule Niemeier than the betting markets had it priced up. Unfortunately, the German caved to pressure in the opening set, losing it 7-5, before blowing a 3-1 lead in the second set, with points for a double break lead serving 4-1.

Happy with the analysis, just a shame we only came away with the over there and didn’t get at least the +1.5 sets wager.

Thursday, it’s once again a Rybakina match we’ll preview, as she takes on Beatriz Haddad Maia in Stuttgart.

In this article:

Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Preview
Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Best Bet

Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Preview

April 20th, 19:00 (UK Time)

Another day, another chance to oppose Rybakina on clay thanks to her string of wins.

After a rather uninspiring win against Niemeier as a massive favourite, we’re seeing her being given a lot of credit once again on Thursday, as she takes on Haddad Maia.

The Brazilian has a strong combination of a strong serve, potent groundstrokes and consistent play. She’s also a decent mover for her height, ensuring she has a very well-rounded game.

It also means she’s found success in her career across surfaces, as she has certain tools that help her regardless of what court a match is played on.

With her lefty game, she should also be able to target the primary weakness of the Kazakh’s game in her backhand.

When on serve, if she’s smart, she’ll look to pick on that wing from the get-go and set herself up to hit forehands crosscourt and keep the pressure on Rybakina’s groundstroke that doesn’t boast nearly as much power and is far more prone to leaking errors.

Elena Rybakina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Best Bet

Ultimately, it comes down to Rybakina continuing to be overvalued in the betting markets.

She wins a boatload of matches, but there are plenty that are closer than markets expect, and because of her lack of mobility and the way her backhand can be erratic at times, she struggled to dominate and post lopsided scores in sets on a consistent basis.

Playing against a lefty who should be gameplanning to attack the backhand in her own service games and can serve, hit and move, we should see Rybakina kept to a closer match than expected once again on Thursday.

Haddad Maia may not have as cheap a price as Niemeier to back, but she’s also much more well-rounded, more capable of playing longer matches and established at the top level of the game. To have her over 3.50 is enough to get me involved here. I’ll look to play the same combination of over games, set handicap and the Brazilian to win as I did on Wednesday with Niemeier.

Selection: Over 21 Games
Best Odds: 1.94 (Pinnacle)
Stakes: 2/10
Bonus Bets: Haddad Maia +1.5 sets at 1.96 odds with Pinnacle using 2/10 stakes & Haddad Maia to win at 3.65 odds at Pinnacle using 2/10 stakes.

Odds as at 3:00 am on April 19th, 2023. Odds may now differ.

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