An exciting day is expected in Melbourne with the players from the bottom half of the draw on the women’s competition fighting for a place in the third round. Bookmakers Review breaks down the fixtures below and lists the best available odds from green listed bookmakers.
Strycova vs. Petkovic
Barbora Strycova and Andrea Petkovic will face each other this Thursday with a place in the 3rd round at stake.
Known as one of the trickiest players on the WTA Tour, Strycova is clearly going through the best form of her career. Barbora played at an astonishing level on her debut against Elizaveta Kulichkova with only 9 unforced errors. Besides this, the Czech served at a very high level, saving the two break points that she faced throughout the match.
While Strycova is in the best shape of her life, Andrea Petkovic is trying to find her best tennis after ending 2016 outside the top 50 for the first time since 2012. After three consecutive defeats in the Australian Open first round, Petkovic ended that negative streak with a 6 – 3 6 – 2 victory over the American Wild Card – Kayla Day.
These two have featured some remarkable battles in the past with Strycova emerging victorious in the third set tie break last year in Indian Wells. Even though this won’t be an easy match for the Czech, she should be too strong at the end. For that reason, Strycova is the clear favorite for this match at 53/100 at William Hill while Pinnacle offers 83/50 for Petkovic’s victory.
Errani vs. Makarova
It hasn’t been an easy start of year for Makarova with two consecutive defeats in Brisbane and Sydney. However, playing in Melbourne clearly brings the best out of Ekaterina Makarova with the Russian improving her winning record on this event to 75.00% after the first round victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Regardless of her ranking and recent results, Sara Errani is always a fearful opponent. The Italian is famous for her competitive spirit, always returning an extra ball to the other side of the court. Despite winning only 1 of her previous 8 matches before this event, Errani featured a very good performance in the opening round with a straight sets victory against Risa Ozaki.
When looking to their previous encounters, the bookmakers present the lowest odd ever on Makarova with the Russian as the main favourite at 2/5 at Ladbrokes while Bet365 offers 9/4 for Errani’s victory. Even though Ekaterina deserves to be the favourite, this won’t be an easy match for her. Therefore, the Over 20 at 83/100 at Pinnacle is clearly the best betting approach for this match.
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