tennis | Thursday, December 29, 2022 9:12 AM

Friday Tennis Best Bet: WTA United Cup, Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi

Jon Reid

Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi Best Bet: Friday, December 30th

Well, the new season is underway down under, and while next week we’ll have an assortment of matches to choose from with several other tournaments joining the fray on both the ATP and WTA Tours, for Friday, we’ll once again look to the United Cup for our written preview.

This go around, it’s Team Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti taking on Team Brazil’s Laura Pigossi in the Queensland capital of Brisbane.

In this article:

Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi Preview
Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi Best Bet

Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi Preview

December 30th, 4:30 (UK Time)

With the new team and country-based tournament format delivering us players with rankings that probably shouldn’t be here – just as the ATP Cup did in its few years of existence – we continue to find some strong favourites that simply aren’t valued enough in the betting markets to preview.

For Friday, that player is the Italian, who I don’t think gets a fair shake by many who categorise her as a “pusher” (a somewhat belittling term for players who play a more defensive style and lack the ability to dictate or counterpunch to win points of their own accord).

Bronzetti showed some chops at smaller events on the WTA Tour on hard courts in 2022, including some success in quicker indoor conditions. While her endurance, consistency and defensive play are the foundation of her game, she is perfectly capable of injecting pace into her forehand when the situation calls for it.

Pigossi, on the other hand, is more of a pusher, relying on opponents’ errors to win points. It’s why she’s primarily a low-level WTA and ITF clay-court specialist and only managed wins at South American ITF events and one qualifying match on hard courts in 2022. When playing against decent opposition, she was summarily dispatched more often than not, and it was actually a match against Bronzetti where she managed to keep things close.

That is likely why we’re seeing the handicap at 4.5 games, and what is providing value in this spot. I’m happy to take the better hard courter, whose game also has plenty of consistency to avoid falling into the trap of erratic play against someone who tries to extend the points and hold on as long as she can. With Bronzetti’s improvements and much quicker courts this time around, I’m looking for her to get things done much more routinely.

Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi Best Bet

In the end, it’s yet another match with a lower-ranked player that reached the team competition thanks to their compatriot’s rank, and once again, we’ve got someone that is underpowered and a fish out of water on hard courts.

With Bronzetti being more competent than the market generally gives her credit for, and just being far more dynamic in general, I’m once again inclined to back a heavy favourite on the handicap, with my assessment of the number being at least a half-game and closer to a full game too low.

Selection: Bronzetti -4.5 Games
Odds: 1.91 (Coolbet)
Stakes: 5/10

Odds as at 6:15 am on December 29th, 2022. Odds may now differ.

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