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Mixed martial arts Tuesday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Cincinnati, Jelena Ostapenko vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Jelena Ostapenko vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Best Bet: Tuesday, August 16th
Plenty of action to come on Tuesday from Cincinnati, as the first round of play at the Western & Southern Open continues.
For our selection on the tournament, we turn to a match between the red-hot Beatriz Haddad Maia and the big-hitting Jelena Ostapenko.
In this article:
Jelena Ostapenko vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Preview
August 16th, Time TBD
Well it was yet another sensational week for the Brazilian in Toronto, as she reached another final, and vaulted herself further up the WTA rankings into the top-20.
It really makes you wonder how she’s been deemed the underdog in this matchup. I, for one, am in total disagreement with that assessment for a few reasons.
First, the concern over potential fatigue after a long week is a real one a lot of the time in professional tennis. For Haddad Maia? That’s less of a concern. Already this season we’ve seen her go deep the week after a lengthy run, not once but several times. In fact, during grass season, she won Nottingham one week, won Birmingham the next and then still managed to reach the semifinal in her third consecutive week of play at Eastbourne.
Then there were the back-to-back final runs in France at the WTA 125K level in France on clay. The point is, she’s shown herself to be more than capable of making deep runs in successive weeks this season.
As for Ostapenko, I like the way she matches up with the Latvian as well.
The tall Brazilian has all the needed characteristics one would look for when opposing the mercurial Ostapenko.
First, when Ostapenko finds a purple patch of power ball striking, you want a player that can hold their own serve and find quick, cheap points of their own. After serving well over 180 km/h on first serves all week in Toronto, Haddad Maia certainly fits that bill. Secondly, when Ostapenko is struggling to land her powerful groundstrokes, you need someone that can extend points and wait out those unforced errors. Another strength of the tall Brazilian’s.
Next, let’s take a look at the courts. The hard courts in Cincinnati are known to play as some of the quicker ones on tour. While that may seem like a positive for the Latvian, she’s actually struggled mightily at this venue in the past. That’s likely because while the power plays well and is even more potent, she can also be rushed when the ball comes back at her.
In fact, Ostapenko has lost in the opening round of play in Cincinnati three times in her five trips to the venue in the past. Last year, she reached the third round, beating the clay courter Tamarar Zidansek and then advancing from a set down via retirement as Jennifer Brady was hurt. In her other appearance, she was dispatched in the second round with ease by Karolina Pliskova.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Best Bet
In the end, this pricing relies heavily on the assumption that Haddad Maia may not have enough energy in the tank to get through the hard-hitting Ostapenko.
Considering she’s also the much more fit player between the two, I’m not nearly as concerned. She possesses the requisite game style to trouble Ostapenko, and we know that the 25-year-old Riga native isn’t fond of these courts.
I’ll take Haddad Maia as the underdog to keep her blistering run of form going.
- Selection: Haddad Maia to Win
- Best Odds: 2.18 (Coolbet)
- Stakes: 5/10
Odds as at 9:00 am on August 16th, 2022. Odds may now differ.
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