tennis | Thursday, September 8, 2022 7:34 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: US Open Women, Caroline Garcia vs Ons Jabeur

Jon Reid

Caroline Garcia vs. Ons Jabeur Best Bet: Thursday, September 8th

We’re into the semifinal stage of the U.S. Open and what a match we have on our hands between Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur. We’ll get into why this contest is such a treat for tennis fans – whether hardcore or casual supporters of the sport – in a moment.

With both women looking for their maiden grand slam title (and Garcia looking to reach her maiden final), all is to play for on Thursday from New York City.

Let’s delve into the match and our selection from Thursday’s action from Flushing Meadows.

In this article:

Caroline Garcia vs Ons Jabeur Preview
Caroline Garcia vs Ons Jabeur Best Bet

Caroline Garcia vs Ons Jabeur Preview

September 8th, Time TBD

One could label this semifinal a clash of two of the top three women in today’s women’s game and not be exaggerating in the slightest.

Former World No. 5 Garcia had a few really tough years before finding her game in mid-June. Since the grass event in Bad Homburg, the Frenchwoman has posted a stunning 31-4 record and picked up several titles – on all three surfaces, no less.

Her massive serve and potent forehand have managed to keep points short and help alleviate pressure on her service games. Against talented young American Coco Gauff, Garcia was even managing to find winners off her first forehand behind her second serves. Combined with an aggressive return positioning that instantly puts her opposition on the back foot in their own service games, Garcia has found a recipe for incredible success. A win in this one and she’ll be just a few positions from returning to the top five in the rankings.

As for Jabeur, she can lay her own claim to being the world’s second-best player behind Iga Swiatek. Her game possesses incredible surface versatility as well (she won the 1000-level event in Madrid and made the final in Rome on clay, was a set from winning the Wimbledon title on grass and has now reached the semifinals in New York on hard courts).

Equipped with strong movement, one of the game’s best dropshots, a strong slice, yet also a powerful serve and forehand that can dictate play to ensure she’s not overpowered against some of the bigger hitter’s on tour, the Tunisian has an incredible game. The lone weakness? Being prone to committing far too many unforced errors in sets, and at times struggling to close matches.

Her success on the biggest of stages this season, however, has shown that she’s firmly in the discussion as one of the best players in women’s tennis.

In terms of matchup, it’ll be interesting to see who emerges from this one victorious. Garcia’s plan will be to avoid fixing what hasn’t been broken. Look for a straightforward power-oriented performance. She’s been bludgeoning opponents on-court with her power and there’s no reason for her to deviate.

The question is, can Jabeur force her off that gameplan. The slices and dropshots will be extremely important in this one. Lower-bouncing balls will make it tough for Garcia to accurately hit her powerful groundstrokes, and effective dropshots will ensure she’s forced into some more defensive shots, as well.

Caroline Garcia vs Ons Jabeur Best Bet

Considering Jabeur has the serve and power to dictate and find cheap points of her own, while she has the tools to potentially neutralise Garcia’s aggressive style, I give her a decent chance to upset the apple cart in this one.

That said, this is still a very close matchup, and I’m not keen on opposing Garcia while she’s in this form either.

For me, the best play here is to trust Jabeur to keep things close, but also plan for strong play from Garcia and potential errors from Jabeur. I’ll be backing the match to go over the total games.