2022 WTA Tour: Qatar Ladies Open – selected Ro32 matches

2022 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Qatar Ladies Open
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex
Selected Round of 32 Matches- 22nd February

Clara Tauson 7/4 | Paula Badosa 4/9 *forecast betting

19-year-old Dane Clara Tauson is looking to follow in the footsteps of idol Caroline Wozniacki and reach the summit of women’s tennis. There’s something of the Coco Gauff in Tauson’s game.

She is a power baseliner who seems to hit the ball just as well off both wings. 2021 was a breakthrough season for Tauson. It was obviously somewhat dwarfed by the achievements of Emma Radacanu et al.

But she reached three WTA finals last year, winning titles in Lyon ad Luxembourg. All of those finals came on indoor hardcourts, showcasing her preference for these faster surfaces.

She picked up her maiden victory against a top 10 player at this year’s Aussie Open, shocking a red-hot Anett Kontaveit in the 2nd round. She has been handed a nightmarish draw at this year’s championships.

She won a gruelling three-set match against reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic. Could she pull off another upset victory against Paula Badosa?

It’s been quite a wild ride for Spaniard Paula Badosa this year. She is obviously come off a career-best season in 2021. She won the Indian Wells Masters en route to a WTA Finals berth.

But 2022 has been a really schizophrenic affair for Badosa. She lost to Victoria Azarenka in her first match of the year in Adelaide. But she followed that up with a rousing victory at the Sydney International.

And she looked good at the Aussie Open before running into fired-up Grand Slam specialist Madison Keys. But last week she was waylaid by the unfancied Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her first match in Dubai.

It’s very much been a yoyo year for the hard-hitting Badosa. The key to Paula Badosa is her serve. It’s a massive weapon that allows her to accumulate loads of free points. But when she loses confidence in her serve it can derail her whole game.

Verdict: Tauson to win at 7/4

Tauson won their only previous encounter in Lyon last year. She is a player who can withstand Badosa’s shot-making barrage. I think there’s real value in the upset victory here. Tauson just outlasted Bencic and Badosa has been wildly inconsistent this season.

Aryna Sabalenka 2/5 | Alize Cornet 2/1 *forecast betting

With World Number One Ashleigh Barty absent this week, Aryna Sabalenka will assume the role of tournament top seed. And she certainly has the pedigree to be a factor this week, winning the Qatar title in 2020.

But she enters this year’s event in completely indifferent form. Her 2022 win-loss rate sits at an even 4-4. That included back-to-back first-round defeats in the Adelaide events.

She bounced back somewhat at the Aussie Open, eventually reaching the 4th round. But she once again underwhelmed in Dubai last week. I really thought this could be the year where she kicked on.

She reached back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals towards the back end of 2021. But her serve has been her Achilles heel this year. Sabalenka lives on the edge and is always likely to rack up some unforced errors.

But she usually a reliable serve to balance that out. But this year her double fault count is through the roof. Perhaps a return to the scene of previous success could bode well for the Belarusian.

Alize Cornet was one of the most compelling narratives at this year’s Aussie Open. She reached her 1st ever Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 63rd time of asking.

I think the emotion of the occasion got to her as she was well beaten by Danielle Collins in the final eight. To be fair, that run was a bit of an anomaly for the Frenchwoman this year.

All three of her other appearances this year have resulted in first-round defeats. She hasn’t won a title since July 2018. Having said that, she did reach a final on the Chicago hardcourts just last year.

There have been glimpses of a potential winner in Cornet. But will she be able to withstand the brutality of Sabalenka’s groundstrokes? She only just managed to scrape through against Samsonova in her opening match.

Verdict: Sabalenka to win in straight sets at 1/1

These two have an equal 1-1 head-to-head record. Cornet won on clay in 2019 while Sabalenka thrashed the Frenchwoman in Dubai last year. It was tempting to opt for yet another upset here. Cornet has shown some signs of life and Sabalenka has been ordinary this year. I just have the feeling that things are going to click for Sabalenka this week.