tennis | Friday, June 9, 2023 8:12 AM

Friday Tennis Best Bet: WTA 125K La Bisbal d’Emporda, Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide

Jon Reid

Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide Best Bet: Friday, June 9th

Wild stuff from Karolina Muchova, as she blows a set and break lead, but then comes back from the brink of defeat in the deciding set to reach her first ever grand slam final. The over games and Muchova to win bets both come in, so no complaints from me.

For Friday, with the men’s semifinals going on Chatrier, we head down to the WTA 125K level for our women’s selection, as Arantxa Rus takes on Caroline Dolehide in La Bisbal d’Emporda.

In this article:

Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide Preview
Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide Best Bet

Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide Preview

June 9th, 16:00 (UK Time)

Some really strong matchups this week at the 125K level, as many players who are strong on the dirt look to pick up a bit more prize money and a few more rankings points ahead of the grass-court portion of the schedule.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Dolehide here – a big server who should fare well on the grass – looking for one more event before tennis on the lawns takes over. Rus is here for the opposite reason. The clay-court specialist is surely looking to squeeze every last point out of the red dirt as she can.

Dolehide has found some success on clay courts this season, but in the next section we’ll go over why that record may be a bit deceiving. A big server and ball striker, her style isn’t necessarily rewarded on slower surfaces.

Rus has a spin-heavy, lefty game that is perfectly suited to clay. The topspin ensures her balls aren’t all that attackable, they can bounce up out of opponents’ preferred striking zones and she consistently hits with depth. Power isn’t necessarily her strong suit, but she’s capable of hitting with pace when the situation calls for it.

As the more natural clay courter in this scenario, I certainly think the Dutchwoman has the upper hand.

Arantxa Rus vs Caroline Dolehide Best Bet

For many of the same reasons as we found so much value on Bianca Andreescu at the French Open against Emma Navarro, Rus at 1.83 is showing some decent value here.

A lot of Dolehide’s success came on quicker green clay at the ITF level and against weaker competition. Her ability on the red clay courts hasn’t really been tested, and against the first natural clay courter she came up against, the American lost badly to Maria Lourdes Carle in French Open qualifying as a substantial favourite.

With Rus being the more natural clay courter, having a higher pedigree, the more topspin-heavy game and a decet serve of her own, I’m happy to back her here at a cheap price.