The WTA Strasbourg women’s tournament quarterfinals unfold on Thursday. The WTA 500 event will conclude on Saturday, not the normal Sunday slot, because the French Open begins on Sunday and the finalists and semifinalists need a little turnaround time before competing in the year’s second major tournament. You will find some interesting competitions on the Thursday slate. LWOS has our best bets for three matches. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Strasbourg
Cristian – Kasatkina: Time 14:00 EST
H2H: 1-3
Jaqueline Cristian faces Daria Kasatkina. Cristian just defeated Clara Tauson, a player who had not played a full match in over two months due to repeated back problems. Cristian did her job well, but she was facing a very rusty opponent. It will be very interesting to see if that win propels Cristian forward or if it represented a lucky break that won’t have any bearing on what Cristian does next. Kasatkina has thrived in Strasbourg. She has won two qualifying matches and two main-draw matches. Her most recent win came against Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
Best Bet to Make
It is hard to put too much stock in Cristian’s win over a very rusty Clara Tauson. Kasatkina, with a four-match winning streak in Strasbourg, is very comfortable on clay generally and on the courts at Strasbourg specifically. It is worth trusting Kasatkina’s comfort zone right now. The price for the Kasatkina moneyline isn’t amazing, but it’s good enough to warrant a bet if the confidence level in cashing a ticket is high … which it is in this case.
That being said, betting on Kasatkina winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Kasatkina winning @1.62 @Bet365
Bouzkova – Li: Time 12:30 EST
H2H: 3–0
Marie Bouzkova faces Ann Li in a matchup of top-30 players. Bouzkova has had a good week in Strasbourg after previous struggles. She looked really strong in a first-round win over Katerina Siniakova. Bouzkova was the moneyline underdog in that match but played like a favorite. She then advanced to the quarterfinals when her second-round opponent, Oleksandra Oliynykova, retired. Bouzkova is physically fresh due to not having had to play a full second-round match. Ann Li has beaten Liudmila Samsonova and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Best Bet to Make
The betting markets have this priced very close to a toss-up so that the moneyline winner will give you a good price either way. Both players are in good form, but Bouzkova is slightly fresher and has beaten players who were more in form entering this tournament than Li’s opponents. Li has beaten Samsonova and Alexandrova, both of whom have relatively high WTA rankings but whose tennis was not that good coming into Strasbourg. Bouzkova’s win over Siniakova might have been a more impressive performance than what Li produced. We’re going with Bouzkova here.
That being said, betting on Bouzkova winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Bouzkova winning @2.00 @Pinnacle
Mboko – Fernandez: Time 19:30 EST
H2H: 1–0
Victoria Mboko plays Leylah Fernandez in a battle of Canadians in France. Mboko did not play in Rome due to illness and came into Strasbourg lacking match play. Mboko is ranked in the top 10 but needed to play this tournament precisely because she needed more tennis going into the French Open. She looked solid in a win over Lois Boisson, the same French player who made the French Open semifinals a year ago. If Mboko was rusty before this tournament, she seemed to play her way out of rust against Boisson. Leylah Fernandez beat Leolia Jeanjean and Magdalena Frech in her first two matches in Strasbourg. Now she gets a chance to play Mboko in the best quarterfinal of the day in France.
Best Bet to Make
Mboko’s sharp and confident performance against Boisson indicates that she is ready to compete at a high level and get back to playing quality tennis. Mboko is the higher-ranked player. She has more upside and is very physically fresh due to her lack of matches in previous months. Fernandez is not consistent enough to deserve a bettor’s trust here. Maybe Mboko will win in straight sets, but the safer play is Mboko moneyline. The price is not amazing, but the likelihood of winning is, in our view, very high.
That being said, betting on Mboko winning is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Mboko winning @1.63 @1xBet
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
