tennis | Tuesday, August 9, 2022 8:18 AM (Revised at: Tuesday, August 9, 2022 8:19 AM)

Tuesday Tennis Best Bet: WTA Toronto, Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina

Jon Reid

Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina Best Bet: Tuesday, August 9th

With the first day of action wrapped up, we turn our attention to the remainder of the first round, with plenty of matches remaining on the docket to fill out the second round matchups.

For Tuesday’s selection from Toronto, we’re going to dig into a match between Bianca Andreescu and Daria Kasatkina.

In this article:

Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina Preview
Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina Best Bet

Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina Preview

August 9th, Time TBD

Really interesting to see who the oddsmakers have made the favourite in this match. The hometown Andreescu (from a suburb just to the west of where the event is played) will certainly have the crowd’s support, and has had success at the venue in the past – she won in Toronto in 2019 – but there are several reasons that it’s actually her Russian opponent that should be favoured to win.

For starters, there is no debating which of the two players is in better form. Kasatkina is coming off a title in San Jose (where Andreescu was ousted in her opening match).

That segues nicely into the fact that Kasatkina has also been the much better player on this surface in 2022. While Andreescu has played just the one match, her Russian counterpart in this one has reached three semifinals in 2022 and in two events has lost her third match to Iga Swiatek (who has been dominating just about everyone in 2022).

There’s also the fitness concern coming into this one. As mentioned above, Andreescu was dispatched with relative ease from San Jose by Shelby Rogers, and was struggling mightily from a physical standpoint, having the trainer come out to assist her several times. In fact, there was doubt she’d be able to play this week, and needed confirmation from a doctor after getting back to Toronto to confirm her presence. Contrast that with Kasatkina, who’s game is predicated on rock solid play, including in hot conditions and long rallies. That’s a big advantage for the 25-year-old.

As for the matchup, Kasatkina also has a decent edge against a more erratic Andreescu. Despite Andreescu having won the previous meetings between the two, Kasatkina’s added aggression and pace to her serve and forehand have really rounded out her game well. As someone who used to rely on misses from her opponents as her primary (or only) way of winning points (which can still be effective against Andreescu), Kasatkina was in trouble when players who could hit through her were having a good day. Now with an improved serve and the ability to find winners of her own (see her semifinal match against Paula Badosa in San Jose, where she fired 16 of them), she can beat you in a multitude of ways.

Bianca Andreescu vs Daria Kasatkina Best Bet

Another potential reason the Canadian is favoured to win this matchup is the fact that she absolutely clobbered Kasatkina in Germany earlier in the season. With that matchup being played on a different surface (grass) and coming in an outlier week of success for Andreescu, I’m still not sold that the 22-year-old deserves to be the favourite.

I’ll be backing an in-form and much more well-rounded Kasatkina in this one. Since I believe she should not only be the favourite, but a relatively large one, I’m willing to take a larger position here as well.

The only thing holding me back from making this an even larger bet stakes-wise is a lengthy week on the west coast for Kasatkina with travel back east. Though with this match being played Tuesday, and as part of the night session, that shouldn’t matter as much.

Finally, try to ensure you use a bookmaker that pays out on the winning player once the first set has ended. Due to the aforementioned physical issues last week, if Andreescu were to retire in the second or third set, you wouldn’t want to miss out on a winner at over evens odds wise due to bookmaker rules!