Women’s main draw matches commence on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. A busy day which includes 16 first round matches. With so many matches on across the grounds, let’s narrow things down by taking a look at some of the best betting options of the day.
Indian Wells Best Bets: March 9
Recommended selections are based on a 5 unit betting system where 1 unit is a minimum stake, and 5 units is the maximum stake.
Caroline Garcia vs Dayana Yastremska
Dayana Yastremska’s fairy tale run in Lyon was cut agonizingly short as she succumbed to Shuai Zhang in the final despite leading by a break in the final set last week. A quick turnaround, vastly different conditions and a solid opponent seemingly leave her vulnerable in her Indian Wells opener. Her opponent, Caroline Garcia, also went on a deep run in Lyon last week by reaching the semifinals.
Yastremska is always the type of player that is more appealing to bet on as an underdog, more appealing to fade as a favorite. I’d be happy to take a small nibble at Garcia in this case as the slight underdog. The slower, heavier conditions at night should favor Garcia in this matchup. I think there’s a good chance Yastremska struggles to adjust in tricky conditions, especially with her aggressive game, the errors can flow in situations like this. Garcia is experienced enough and solid enough to take advantage.
Recommended selection:
Caroline Garcia ML – 1 unit @ +110
Sofia Kenin vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Not many could have predicted Beatriz Haddad Maia to come into a hard court match with Sofia Kenin in 2022 as the slight favorite. That’s the situation we have here, I can’t pass up these odds for Kenin even if her recent form has been awful.
Haddad Maia is coming off a nice run to the semifinals in Monterrey last week where she was totally outclassed by Leylah Fernandez. Kenin’s form isn’t good, that can’t be denied. Kenin has lost five consecutive matches dating back to Adelaide in the first tournament of the year.
What also can’t be denied is the fact that Kenin is a Major champion on a hard court and capable of playing terrific tennis in these types of conditions. Haddad Maia’s solid lefty style, which plays into the strong Kenin backhand may just be the ideal matchup for Kenin to capture some better form on home soil. Worth a small stake.
Recommended Selection:
Sofia Kenin ML – 1 unit @ +106
Ajla Tomljanovic vs Hailey Baptiste
The safest play of the day, with decent odds would have to be Ajla Tomljanovic. Tomljanovic hasn’t had the greatest start to the season, that’s mostly due to some rough draws which included back-to-back opening round losses to Pala Badosa in Australia. This leaves us with some decent odds for Tomljanovic against an opponent she should outclass. Tomljanovic had the best season of her career in 2021 and has generally become very reliable in situations like this where she comes up against a much lower ranked opponent.
Hailey Baptiste has suffered lopsided losses to Christina McHale, Katie Volynets and Dianne Parry over the last month and a half, those results suggest she is in trouble against Tomljanovic. The slow surface should also favour Tomljanovic in this matchup, the Aussie should have the edge from the back of the court. Baptiste will need to play one of her best matches to win this one, very unlikely given her recent poor performances.
Recommended selections:
Ajla Tomljanovic ML – 2 Units @ -194
Ajla Tomljanovic -3.5 game handicap – 0.5 units @ -112
This article is intended for entertainment purposes only. LWOS makes no guarantees that the picks will win. Only gamble where it is legal to do so, and only amounts you can afford to lose. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
Main Photo from Getty.
