tennis | Wednesday, August 31, 2022 9:04 AM

Wednesday Tennis Best Bet: US Open Women, Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic

Jon Reid

Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic Best Bet: Wednesday, August 31st

Well, an ice cold start to the Open, as both women’s selections were not even remotely close to having hope.

For Wednesday, we’ll dive into the match between former French Open champion, Barbora Krejcikova, and Aleksandra Krunic.

In this article:

Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic Preview
Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic Best Bet

Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic Preview

August 31st, 21:30 UK Time

Well after a prolonged absence from injury – and a few struggles since returning – Krejcikova found a much-needed dominant victory in her first-round encounter with former NCAA player Fernanda Contreras Gomez.

The former world No. 1 will look to replicate that performance in an effort to reach the third round at a grand slam event for the third time this season. She has a great shot to do so as well.

While she’s had trouble with some of the bigger names and hitters on tour since her return – somewhat expected when one’s game is based on elite athleticism and movement, since being a step behind can often mean hitting an error or leaving a bal short instead of effectively counterpunching with depth – she’s dominated players without the ability to hit through her.

Contreras Gomez was a prime example of that in the opening round, as was her drubbing of Francesca di Lorenzo in Cleveland. With her second-round opponent being another slice and variety heavy player in Krunic, Krejcikova should be able to dictate play and use her own consistency to avoid committing errors that Krunic typically relies on.

The high handicap may scare many off, but I’m okay with giving out a sizable head start in this one.

Barbora Krejcikova vs Aleksandra Krunic Best Bet

Not only does Krejcikova have the matchup edge needed in this contest, but she’s also the much better hard-court player. Despite her struggles this summer, she did reach the quarterfinals in her Australian Open warmup event and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Her losses this season have overwhelmingly come against top-30 players as well.

Krunic, on the other hand, is just 3-8 on outdoor hard courts this year, playing much worse opposition. Her first-round win? Against clay-court specialist Elina Avanesyan of Russia.

Finally, the other reason I’m willing to play such an elevated handicap is that Krejcikova against two oppositions of Krunic’s talent level and style has won by eight games in each of the two matches. Meanwhile, the Serbian has lost by margins of nine games and six games to Marie Bouzkova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, respectively.