The 2019 WTA Tour continues with selected round of 32 matches from Wimbledon Tennis Championships on Wednesday the 3rd of July 2019. Check out our full betting preview below.
2019 WTA Tour | Wimbledon Tennis Championships
All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Selected Round of 32 Matches – 3 July 2019
Danielle Rose Collins (5/2)
vs Anastajia Sevatsova (1/3)
Danielle Rose Collins has gone about her development in a unique manner. She cut her teeth on the collegiate circuit, twice winning the prestigious NCAA title. So she took a rather circuitous route to the tour. But the transition to professional tennis took some time. But at last year’s Miami Open she became the first woman to reach the semi-finals through the qualification route. She also captured the Newport Open title. There were certainly signs that she could shed the moniker of a great college player and rise through the ranks. And in Melbourne, she truly proved that. Her semi-final run was impressive as it was unheralded. She beat the likes of Angelique Kerber and Julia Gorges. She has battled to find any traction since then, with a quarter-final at the Charleston her best finish. But I think that the statuesque American may find these surfaces more to her liking.
Anastajjia Sevatsova enjoyed a breakthrough 2018 that saw her rise to the precipice of women’s tennis. Her victory over Sloane Stephens and subsequent semi-final run at Flushing Meadows highlighted her fighting spirit. Like Collins, Sevatosva has followed an unusual career path. She retired from the sport in 2013 due to a spate of debilitating injury issues. But she has fought back and has been right on the cusp of brilliance throughout this year. She was knocked out in the 4th round of both the French Open and Aussie Open: she also picked up quarterfinals in Brisbane and Stuttgart. She will feel somewhat frustrated with failing to capitalize on some of these opportunities. She beat Ahn comfortably in the opening round and will be desperate for a more concerted run this year: Wimbledon has proved a restarting surface for Sevatsova over her career.
Considering the events of Black Monday, it’s really possible to expect anything in this year’s Wimbledon. Yes, Collins has really shown very little in the wake of that Aussie Open masterclass. But her physique and undoubted talent make her great fit for this Championship. Sevatsova has never been overly comfortable on grass and I would opt for an American victory here.
Mihaela Buzarnescu (4/1)
vs Simona Halep (1/6)
Simona Halep’s relatively lowly ranking of 7 for this event really sums up what has been a disappointing campaign for the Romanian. She did reach finals in Madrid and Qatar, but two poor Grand Slam exits and no titles make for an underwhelming 2019. She has failed to really kick on from last year’s maiden Grand Slam title. The 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist has also not enjoyed the greatest grass-court introduction to this year’s Wimbledon. Perhaps she will feel emboldened by a fighting opening round victory against Sasnovich. Though she won in straight sets, it was the Belarusian who led 5-2 in the 2nd. Furthermore, Halep had to overcome a hyperextension of the knee during a real injury scare.
Halep’s fellow Romanian has had a terribly difficult year thus far. She has a slew of opening round defeats thus far this season. It all comes as something of a surprise following her resurgence last season. She ended up reaching a career-high single’s ranking of 20. That came on the back of two lost finals and a Bank of the West Classic victory. She picked up notable scalps last season, accounting for Jelena Ostapenko and Elina Svitolina twice. So it’s hard to really offer too much in her favour this week. However, I did find one interesting little crumb of information. Buzarnescu won the double’s titles at both Eastbourne and Nottingham last year. Simona Halep is notoriously susceptible to early exits and her fellow countrywoman could provide a sterner test than expected.
I was fairly surprised to discover that this will only be the 2nd meeting between these two compatriots. One slight area of concern for me could be Simona Halep’s record against Kerber on grass. Kerber, a more esteemed lefty than Buzarnescu, has beaten Halep in both their meetings on grass. Halep is the clear favourite here, but I still think there’s enough there for a speculative shock.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets
