The second day of the WTA Cincinnati Open is in the books, and LWOS is back with more best bets. I want to apologize for letting you all down with those picks for Montreal. I really thought Tauson was playing with house money. Here’s to hoping these picks do better.
WTA Cincinnati Open
Frech – Cirstea: Time 16:00
H2H: 1-0
Magdalena Frech and Sorona-Mihaela Cirstea have one prior match, and it took place at the 2023 Birmingham Open. Frech took that match in three sets during the round of 16. Both women are extremely experienced on a hardcourt, but neither woman excels on the surface. Frech is a lifetime 181-128, and Cirstea is 267-205. Cirstea has a lifetime of experience in this particular tournament, making her first appearance back in 2009, and only missing the tournament five times during that span. Frech has three prior appearances.
Best Bet to Make
Cirstea is the favorite in this match, and I agree. Frech has struggled in 2025. She only has ten wins on the year. She’s actually coming off her best performance of the year, reaching the quarterfinals of WTA Washington. Her previous best was a round-of-16 performance at WTA Stuttgart. I will concede that Cirstea isn’t having a banner year, but she’s 8-7 on a hardcourt and outside of WTA Iasi, she’s having her best performances on the surface. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae when talking about middle-of-the-road players, but this seems pretty straightforward.
That being said, Cirstea winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Cirstea winning @1.75 @bet-at-home
Joint – Haddad-Maia: Time 16:00
H2H: 0-0
Maya Joint vs Beatriz Haddad-Maia is an interesting match. Joint enters the match having one hell of a year. She’s 40-19 overall with two tournament titles at Eastbourne and Rabat. The 19-year-old wunderkind has more than lived up to the hype and is on track to bolster her world ranking. Haddad-Maia is having a rough year. She’s only 10-21 overall, and she’s 2-10 on a hardcourt, which does not bode well for her upcoming match against Joint.
Best Bet to Make
For all the reasons I just mentioned and several others, Joint is the favorite in this match, according to the books. I also firmly agree with the books on this one. Joint is playing at an elite level, and Haddad-Maia is having the type of season that Joint can exploit. Not only is she having conditioning issues, but she’s also having joint issues and cramps. This must be music to the young ears of the under-20 Joint. I would expect Joint work Haddad-Maia completely around the court and tire her out before putting her away.
That being said, Joint winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Joint winning @1.58 @BetSafe
Mboko – Shnaider: Time 19:00
H2H: 0-1
Victoria Mboko vs Diana Shnaider is easily the featured match for my column. Mboko will be coming fresh off her tournament victory at the Montreal Open, which was a three-set affair. Who knows how fresh or ready she’s going to be, but she’s at the age where this shouldn’t be as much of a concern. Shnaider is having a rough year. For whatever reason, she seems to follow a really solid year with a really mediocre year. This has been happening since 2022. ’22 was great, but ’23 was barely over .500, and then she bounced back with a 55-23 year in ’24. Now she sits at 19-18 at the midway point of 2025.
Best Bet to Make
There’s little to no reason to pick Shnaider in this match. Mboko is having a ludicrously good year. She just won her sixth tournament of the year, and while I concede that five of them were ITF, it’s still a hell of a lot of winning, and she wins when she’s at the WTA level. She just hadn’t won a tournament at that level… until last night. Mboko is on fire, and I don’t expect her to have an off-game or a let-down after her big win over Osaka. I expect her to be grounded and measured, just as she’s been doing all year.
That being said, Mboko winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Mboko winning @1.75 @BetVictor
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
