tennis | Saturday, July 9, 2022 7:41 AM (Revised at: Saturday, July 9, 2022 10:35 AM)

Saturday's WTA Tennis Best Bet: Wimbledon, July 9th

Jon Reid

WTA Wimbledon BEST BET: JABEUR vs RYBAKINA

Saturday, July 9th, 14:00 UK Time

It all comes down to this. Saturday’s ladies’ final from the All England Club will be the most triumphant moment in the career of either Ons Jabeur or Elena Rybakina.

With both looking to secure their first-ever title at a grand slam event, both are sure to face some nerves in the lead-up to the first ball on Centre Court.

After a less-than-stellar grass season prior to Wimbledon, the tall Kazakh has looked much better across her first six matches at the All England Club. The pure power behind her serve and groundstrokes have played really well on the slicker grass courts, as Rybakina has dropped just a single set across the fortnight to this point (the first set in her quarterfinal tilt with Ajla Tomljanovic).

Her return game has been stronger than usual as well, but it’s the serve that has propelled her to this point, having dropped serve just 10 times across 13 sets – including just once against the elite-returning Simona Halep in the semis.

All that and yet the 23-year-old is still the underdog in the final. Enter Jabeur, who has had the best grass-court season on the women’s tour. After winning the tuneup event in Berlin, Jabeur has been rock solid in London as well, dropping just two sets en route to the final and posting set scores of 6-2 or better in seven of the 12 sets she’s won.

Also equipped with a strong first serve and forehand – though not as powerful as her opponent’s – Jabeur also possesses the ability to slice effectively on grass courts and has one of the best dropshots in the women’s game.

Those will both be important in keeping the world No. 23 at bay. The slice will help keep the ball low and out of Rybakina’s ideal zone to strike the ball. The dropshot should help keep Rybakina honest and with her movement being exploitable, Jabeur should be able to find a few points that way as well.

Ultimately, I’m looking to take a side against either of these women. With different, yet effective, styles on the grass and two strong servers, the over looks to be the play here. If you can play an over 2.5 sets market, that would be the optimal value. The over games markets also look enticing.