tennis | Tuesday, June 20, 2023 6:57 AM

Tuesday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Berlin, Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu

Jon Reid

Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu Best Bet: Tuesday, June 20th

Anhelina Kalinina comes through in straight sets against Alycia Parks, covering the three-game handicap in the process. Nice start to the week for our women’s previews.

For Tuesday’s bet, we’ll head to the bigger event in Berlin, as Marketa Vondrousova and Bianca Andreescu square off in a pretty high-end first round encounter.

In this article:

Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu Preview
Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu Best Bet

Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu Preview

June 20th, 14:30 (UK Time)

It’s funny how a few weeks can change the complexion of a particular matchup in tennis. With surfaces playing so differently though, that’s the nature of the sport. If this match took place on clay in the slower conditions of clay, I’d be happy to back the Czech to beat Andreescu.

In fact, we saw this match play out in Rome in some of the slowest conditions on tour and Vondrousova did just that.

On grass, however, the balance of power should shift a decent amount in the Canadian’s favour. Her more aggressive game and power should help her hit through the Vondrousova defences – something she couldn’t do in Rome.

Then there’s the lower bounce of grass courts relative to clay. That should also pose a bit of a problem for Vondrousova, whose contact point tends to be higher up. She also plays a very defensive, topspin-oriented game, which isn’t rewarded nearly as much. Her groundstrokes won’t accelerate through the courts as much and where she can oftentimes hit with so much spin that opponents can’t be too aggressive attacking on the next shot without the risk of sailing the shot, on grass, the ball only bounces right into the optimal range for her opposition to tee off.

Her record over the years on the grass lawns is a pretty decent illustration of her struggles. Where she has an impressive win percentage on clay and hard courts, she’s lost twice as many matches as she’s won during the month-long grass-season in her career.

Marketa Vondrousova vs Bianca Andreescu Best Bet

The value here is surely coming from the beatdown Andreescu suffered at Vondrousova’s hands in Rome. The world No. 53 lost just one game en route to a dominant victory, and there is surely a sense in the market that even with the surface change that an 11-game margin is tough to overcome.

It’s worth remembering though, that not only does Vondrousova struggle much more on grass courts, but that margin of victory was most likely an exception, rather than then rule. It’s also worth noting that Andreescu was playing just her second match coming back from injury after turning her ankle during a match in Miami a month earlier.

These two are both very talented players, and I give the edge to Andreescu on the quicker courts in Berlin. At 2.50, I’m happy to back the Canadian to get the job done.