The WTA Madrid second round continues on Friday. The Round of 64 began on Thursday with a few eye-opening results. Elina Svitolina, the No. 7 seed, was beaten in straight sets. Naomi Osaka looked very good in a convincing win. Iga Swiatek played a clean match and started her tournament the right way. What will happen on another day of second-round matches, with more seeded players in action? Here are three matches on the Friday card.
WTA Madrid
Waltert – Ostapenko: Time 8:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Jelena Ostapenko has consistently been one of the most inconsistent players in tennis, women or men. So many Ostapenko matches go to a third set and have very little rhythm. What happens in one set rarely carries over to the next one. Ostapenko is the No. 40 player in the world, ranked 57 spots higher than Simona Waltert, who is No. 97. That gap in ranking should make Ostapenko a heavy favorite, but she’s not. She’s a 1.68 choice. That’s not overwhelming. Trusting Ostapenko to do the job is hard. It usually has been. That’s who she is.
Best Bet to Make
Ostapenko’s volatility is well-known, but is Simona Waltert good enough to win a set against her? Waltert has won three matches in a row, but none against players in the top 65, only one inside the top 100. Ostapenko clearly has enough game to win this match in straight sets and bring home a very good return on an investment.
That being said, betting on Ostapenko winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Ostapenko winning 2:0 @2.50 @Unibet
Noskova – Arango: Time 8:00 EST
H2H: 0-0
Linda Noskova is ranked in the top 15, but she has not yet had a really big breakthrough tournament. She reached the China Open final last year. She has reached a major quarterfinal. Just 21 years old, Noskova has a bright future ahead of her, but when we see teenagers such as Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva rise early in their careers, it can make someone like Noskova seem ordinary by comparison. Everyone is waiting to see Noskova take it to another level. Is Madrid the start of something bigger for her? Standing in her way is Emiliana Arango, who beat Talia Gibson in the Madrid first round.
Best Bet to Make
Noskova is the clearly superior player. She has won four of her last five matches, too, while Arango is 3-3 in her last six matches. The better player is also the in-form player. That should make this bet very simple. You won’t get a huge price on Noskova to win in straight sets, so you have to go to the game spread. Noskova should be able to cover it.
That being said, betting on Noskova -5.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Noskova -5.5 games @1.89 @1xBet
Tauson – Siniakova: Time 9:30 EST
H2H: 0-2
Clara Tauson and Katerina Siniakova both went nearly a full month without playing main tour matches. Both players got injured in Miami in late March. Tauson suffered a back injury while Siniakova endured a hip injury. They did not get to play the warm-up clay tournaments before Madrid. Tauson is a seeded player at this event, but how her body responds to this first clay match of the spring is a mystery.
Best Bet to Make
This match depends on how both players feel on the court. If they both feel the same, Tauson is the better player and should win. However, Tauson has not yet played a tour match since her March injury. Siniakova, as the unseeded player in this matchup, did not get a first-round bye. She had to play a first-round match, and she won it in straight sets. Having played a match to gain some rhythm and confidence – while Tauson got a bye – could actually help Siniakova here. She will probably be more fluid in the first set of the match and could jump to an early lead.
That being said, betting on Siniakova winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Siniakova winning @2.20 @Betway
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
