tennis | Wednesday, March 8, 2023 8:51 AM (Revised at: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 1:00 PM)

Wednesday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Indian Wells, Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu

Jon Reid

Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu Best Bet: Wednesday, March 8th

Well, that’s a disappointing voided bet. Rebecca Peterson generated nearly twice as many break point chances and led by a set and 2-0, 4-2 and then had match point at 5-4 30-40 with Caroline Dolehide serving. In the end, she wins by exactly three games. On the plus side, that played out as expected, and a voided bet is better than a blown lead turning into a losing bet!

Onto Wednesday, where the main draw gets underway! For our first main draw match from the WTA side of things, we’ll preview the contest between Linda Noskova and Irina Camelia Begu.

In this article:

Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu Preview
Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu Best Bet

Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu Preview

March 8th, 19:00 (UK Time)

Tough task for the Czech youngster Noskova in her first match in about a month’s time.

After a breakthrough run through the draw in Adelaide down under as a qualifier and then at another smaller event in Lyon as a qualifier, Noskova has been a little shaky in her last few matches.

She was dispatched in the quarterfinals in that French event as a big favourite by the grinding, relentless baseline play of Camila Osorio. Then in Linz, she was stunned as a sizable favourite in straight sets again – this time by Alison van Uytvanck (who isn’t having the best season herself).

Now she takes on another relentless player from the baseline in Begu, who is far more familiar with slower hard-court conditions than her teenaged counterpart. In fact, this will be Noskova’s fifth event at tour-level on outdoor hard courts and the first one she’ll compete in with conditions that are excessively slow.

Will there be an adjustment period? Can she be patient enough to not try and overhit through the slow courts and her opponent’s defences?

As for Begu, the Romanian veteran is well-versed in playing at Indian Wells. She reached the third round in 2021, won a 125K event the year prior, and then had early exits against the likes of Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu (the latter in three sets) the years before that.

With a defensive style that suits these courts well, and a strong first serve that should allow her to avoid being broken each and every time she serves, Begu has a chance to pull off the upset in this one.

Linda Noskova vs Irina Camelia Begu Best Bet

I understand that Noskova has a strong game and has captured the attention of the tennis world this year.

Having her as a favourite here, as opposed to pricing this one evenly is a bit much for me though.

There are too many question marks with her game (form, lack of experience here, time off, matchup against Begu) for me to not believe this is showing some value. The fact that she’s lost a few matches in a row as a strong favourite tells me she is likely a tad overvalued in the betting markets as well.