WTA Nottingham Tennis Odds, Predictions: Don’t Underestimate Golubic Against Raducanu (June 7)
Eurasia Sport Images/Getty. Pictured: Emma Raducanu.
WTA Nottingham is off to an incredible start and the action continues on Tuesday with more fascinating grass-court matches.
I've found two spots on Tuesday's slate in Nottingham where value has presented itself.
Read on for my best bets and previews.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing tennis matches.
Maria Sakkari (-625) vs. Camila Osorio (+410)
6 a.m. ET
Maria Sakkari had a disappointing finish to her 2022 clay-court season. She fell to Karolina Muchova 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the second round of Roland Garros.
While the sample size isn't huge, grass has been Sakkari's worst surface. The Greek is just 16-12 on grass in her career, with Wimbledon as her only grass-court event since 2019.
In the second round of Wimbledon last season, Sakkari fell to Shelby Rogers in straight sets. She won just 55% of her service points in that match.
Sakkari's game emphasizes her heavy forehand, excellent movement and consistent depth from the baseline. However, topspin, movement and consistency are less important on the grass, where big serves, powerful groundstrokes and taking initiative early in points reign supreme.
However, Sakkari has the skills to be successful on any surface.
Camila Osorio will likely be disappointed in how her French Open turned out. Osorio was erratic from the baseline in a 6-3, 6-3 second round loss to Diane Parry.
Osorio has played just two professional grass-court tournaments in her career, with a 5-2 record on grass. While Osorio doesn't have the typical grass-court game, she managed to qualify for Wimbledon and even made the third round of the main draw.
In her second-round victory over the big-hitting Ekaterina Alexandrova, Osorio won an impressive 47% of her return points.
Like Sakkari, Osorio doesn't have a typical grass-court game. She is very fast around the court and has heavy, consistent groundstrokes, but she doesn't have overwhelming power.
Nonetheless, Osorio looked surprisingly comfortable at Wimbledon last season and seems to have a surprising knack for how to move on grass.
Neither player is in particularly good form and both players' game styles aren't particularly suited for the grass. While Sakkari is the overall better player, she's played two matches on the surface since 2019.
Osorio was able to move well and blunt opponents' power fairly effectively at Wimbledon last season. She looked comfortable for much of that tournament and can force Sakkari to overhit in this match.
Pick: Osorio +5.5 games (-121 via PointsBet)
Emma Raducanu (-190) vs. Viktorija Golubic (+145)
7:15 a.m. ET
Emma Raducanu ended a mediocre clay-court season with a second round defeat at Roland Garros. Raducanu lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 1-6, 1-6 in Paris.
Raducanu's first major breakthrough on the WTA Tour was her round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon last season. While the Brit fell to Ajla Tomljanovic in that match, through wins over tough players such as Marketa Vondrousova and Sorana Cirstea, she showed that she could play at a high level on the grass.
Despite this, Raducanu is still inexperienced on grass, holding just a 5-6 professional record.
Raducanu is a clean ball striker who is solid from both wings and has easy power. She is fast around the court and understands the right time to go for her shots in rallies.
The problem is that she can become erratic from the baseline when her game isn't clicking.
Viktorija Golubic's French Open campaign ended very quickly as she fell 2-6, 6-2, 1-6 to Katie Volynets. Golubic will be ecstatic to get back onto the grass.
Golubic is 25-20 in her career on grass, going 9-4 last season. At Wimbledon last year, Golubic reached the quarterfinals before losing to Karolina Pliskova.
She beat a tough slate of opponents to reach that quarterfinal match, including Veronika Kudermetova, Danielle Collins and Madison Keys.
Golubic's game suits the grass well. The Swiss' variety is outstanding, as she can use her knifing backhand slice to take the ball out of opponents' strike zones.
Her volleying is also crisp, as she won 71% of her net points during Wimbledon last season. She doesn't focus on top spin and plays with an awkward, attacking style that is hard for opponents to handle on quicker surfaces.
Raducanu is playing in her home country and will have fan support, but she's less experienced on grass than Golubic, having played 34 less matches on the surface in her career. Golubic will use the whole court to her advantage and keep her backhand slice low and out of Raducanu's strike zone.
When looking at Elo ratings, while Golubic's overall Elo is nearly 100 points less than Raducanu's, her grass-court Elo is over 20 points higher than the Brit's.
Pick: Golubic +3.5 games (-115 via BetMGM)
How would you rate this article?
Follow Us On Social
