Mixed martial arts Thursday Tennis Best Bet: WTA 125K Limoges, Anhelina Kalinina vs Shuai Zhang
Anhelina Kalinina vs Shuai Zhang Best Bet: Thursday, December 15th
Well, the odds are shorter this week, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value, as we find another win – this one in rather lopsided fashion – to claw back some of the losses from last week, as Lucia Bronzetti defeats Jana Fett in straight sets.
For Thursday, we’ll look at the matchup between Anhelina Kalinina and Shuai Zhang, as the quarterfinals are upon us from Limoges!
In this article:
Anhelina Kalinina vs Shuai Zhang Preview
December 15th, 11:30 UK Time
It isn’t very often that a top-25 player that is the top seed at an event is first on court in each of their first three matches, but such is the case for Zhang, as she’ll once again be the opening singles match on Thursday for the quarterfinal round, as she takes on Kalinina.
After a sluggish first set in her opening match, Zhang has looked very strong in her last four sets played, thoroughly outplaying Jessika Ponchet from the baseline and taking it to Ekaterina Reyngold in her second tilt, needing just over an hour to punch her ticket to the quarters.
Some may look at this as a job done for Zhang, who desperately needed to find form ahead of the quick-court season in Australia that is just a matter of a few weeks away, but considering her strength of opposition to this point, beating a fellow WTA calibre player in Kalinina should certainly be on the to-do list for the veteran from China.
After rounding into form in the last few sets played, I’m surprised to see her as an established underdog in this matchup.
Kalinina has played well this week and has only dropped a handful of games in four sets, but her opponents are relatively unknown and rolling over bets on her to win would’ve netted you $1.13 from an initial stake of $10. In other words, those dominant performances don’t really give us any indication as to how well she’ll fare against much better competition on Thursday.
Where Zhang hits a very flat ball and takes it early (both stylistic components to a game that tends to thrive in quicker conditions), Kalinina is more of a precision player who can counter punch pace effectively.
It should be an interesting duel in terms of style and who can impose theirs more effectively.
I’m not making the case that Zhang should be a big favourite here, but I certainly think this is a relatively even battle for her at worst. If she can dictate and hit her spots, the match is on her racquet.
If Kalinina can time up and redirect the pace from Zhang, this could very well be the Ukrainian’s match to lose.
Either way, I’ll side with the nice underdog odds and take a position out on Zhang to succeed.
Anhelina Kalinina vs Shuai Zhang Best Bet
Trend bettors may not like this one, with how successful favourites have been in matchups this week (including in our selections in prior days). Worth repeating the obvious though, trends do not dictate the outcomes of future matches, and for my money – even if Zhang still looked a little less than 100% – this is a toss-up at worst for her on a quick, indoor hard court.
To have her hovering down around an implied win percentage of around 40% is a bridge too far for me, and I’m happy to back her once again on Thursday.
- Selection: Zhang to win
- Best Odds: 2.63 (Bet365)
- Stakes: 2/10
Odds as at 8:30 am on December 15th, 2022. Odds may now differ.
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