WTA Portoroz
Tennis Club (Portoroz)
Final
Surface: Hard
18.09.2022, 19:00
Elena Rybakina, the recent Wimbledon winner, is back in a tour-level final. Katerina Siniakova stands in her way of winning the Slovenia Open in 2022. Who will be victorious?
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Katerina Siniakova
Katerina Siniakova, World No. 1 in doubles. The 26-year-old won a championship over a month ago at a stacked 100K ITF in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, but only had one singles win during the North American hard-court season. But she's back to her best in Portoroz, dropping only one set on her route to the final (against the defending champion Jasmine Paolini).
There's only one problem: owing to a weather delay, Siniakova had to play both her quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Saturday, which took her four hours. She made it, but she might not have much left for Rybakina. In such situation, the Kazakh will be able to use her destructive force and dominate the proceedings even more easily than normal.
Elena Rybakina
It's a well-known truth that first-time Grand Slam champions often suffer from a hangover and struggle to maintain their form in the following events. Elena Rybakina didn't show it in the lead-up to the US Open because her opponents were absolutely elite (Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys, Cora Gauff), but something went wrong with her loss to Clara Burel in New York.
The Kazakh then came to Portoroz and had a poor first-round performance against Laura Siegemund, fighting back to win from 2-5 down in the fourth set and save a match point. Fortunately for her, she's improved significantly over the course of the week. The 23-year-old defeated Tereza Martincova and Ana Bogdan, finally playing her all-out aggressive tennis with the same effectiveness she shown in London a few months ago.
Expert Betting Tips
The Kazakh will be the better rested player here, but Siniakova is a seasoned doubles champion used to playing a lot of matches - although she usually finds herself out early in the singles and playing the final in the doubles. The Czech won two WTA titles back in 2017 and this is her seventh tour final overall, so nerves should not play a role in this clash with the Wimbledon champion, but Rybakina is undoubtedly the favourite. The 23-year-old has a 4-2 head-to-head record, having won each of their past three meetings in straight sets, and supporting her to do so again tonight looks like an acceptable risk.
- Total Over 19.5 for 1.8
- Handiсap Katerina Siniakova (+5) for 1.84
- Individual Total 1 Over 8.5 for 1.84
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