tennis | Thursday, February 2, 2023 9:25 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Lyon, Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska

Jon Reid

Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska Best Bet: Thursday, February 2nd

The net was Alycia Parks’ enemy on Wednesday early on as she dug herself a 0-4 hole. From that point forward, however, she was the better player, as she found her rhythm. After those opening four games, she wasn’t broken by Petra Martic, and emerged victorious in three sets. Really nice to get one of those larger stakes plays go our way when it comes to comebacks.

For Thursday, we stick with the event in Lyon to preview the match between Shuai Zhang and Maryna Zanevska.

In this article:

Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska Preview
Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska Best Bet

Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska Preview

February 2nd, 14:00 (UK Time)

After an end to the 2022 season where Zhang looked burnt out at a few lower-level 125K events in France, I wondered how’d she fare to kick off the 2023 campaign. After all, the quicker courts should’ve suited her, and those conditions would stretch through January in Australia and into this month.

Zhang has certainly looked like her normal self, after a decent few events down under. Losses came only to elite servers in Karolina Pliskova and Ludmilla Samsonova, and a solid hard courter with decent power in Ana Bogdan.

The matches you’d expect her to come through she not only won, but won by margin. The same goes for her first rounder in Lyon, as she dispatched a tricky defensive player in Madison Brengle with relative ease.

Zanevska may be stronger than some of the others Zhang has beaten, with a decent serve for quicker courts, but clay is still her preferred surface, and she still hits with more topspin, which isn’t rewarded by these courts.

Zhang should once again beat a player that you’d expect her to on hard courts and in quicker conditions here.

Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska Best Bet

I’m normally a bigger fan than the market on Zanevska playing on hard courts. In this spot, however, I think she’s overvalued against someone who is on their preferred court, with ideal court speed and conditions in Zhang.

I have Zhang much, much more of a favourite here and am glad to back her with a rather large staking.