The WTA French Open competition features the second round on Thursday. The conditions in Paris have stayed very hot, and the action in the women’s tournament has not cooled down, either. Some big upsets have marked the first few days of the women’s event. Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula, both top-five seeds, have lost. Other high seeds have been challenged, and some of the middle or lower-seeded players have lost. Women’s tennis is deep and unpredictable, but it makes for an exciting French Open tournament. LWOS has our best bets for three matches on Thursday. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA French Open
Sabalenka – Jacquemot: Time 9:30 EST
H2H: 0-0
Aryna Sabalenka plays Elsa Jacquemot. Sabalenka carried some concerns about her health into this French Open tournament. She had been dealing with back problems. Her first-round performance against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro should reduce the worries about her physical condition. Sabalenka earned a low-drama win, 6-4, 6-2. It wasn’t a complete blowout, but the easy second set should enable the World No. 1 player to settle into this tournament. Elsa Jacquemot is one of just two French women to advance to the second round. Jacquemot beat Linda Fruhvirtova in the first round in straight sets. Let’s see if she can build off that performance against the top seed.
Best Bet to Make
The Sabalenka first-round performance was very encouraging for her. What is also noteworthy is that for an athlete dealing with minor back problems, the hot weather is actually good. Cold weather is worse for athletes dealing with back pain. The high temperatures in Paris could be the best thing Sabalenka could hope for. Sabalenka is a huge favorite here, so a straight-set win won’t offer anything in terms of a price. This is a game-spread bet. Sabalenka should be able to dominate from the start and cover a large spread.
That being said, betting on Sabalenka -7.5 games is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Sabalenka -7.5 games @1.81 @1xBet
Boulter – Potapova: Time 10:30 EST
H2H: 0–0
Katie Boulter faces Anastasia Potapova. Boulter is not a very good player on clay. She was able to win her first-round match over a much lower-ranked opponent, Akasha Urhobo, but she needed three tough sets to do it. Now Boulter faces one of the hotter players on tour, Anastasia Potapova, who made the Linz final and the Madrid semifinals and rose to a seeded position for this French Open tournament. Potapova smoothly won her first-round match in Paris against Maya Joint. Potapova is clearly the more in-form player going into this match.
Best Bet to Make
The price on Potapova winning in straight sets is surprisingly generous, given how much Boulter struggles on clay and how much Potapova is thriving on clay right now. Potapova winning the match outright is a lock. Potapova being able to win in straight sets should be viewed as a likely outcome. So many matches are hard to bet on in terms of something which will offer decent to good value, but this is one of the more obvious bets anywhere on the Thursday card.
That being said, betting on Potapova winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Potapova winning 2:0 @1.68 @1xBet
Mboko – Siniakova: Time 12:00 EST
H2H: 0–0
Victoria Mboko faces Katerina Siniakova. Mboko did not play a full clay season due to illness, but she was able to compete in Strasbourg and reach the final, which gave her much-needed match play heading into the French Open She started her tournament with a straight-set win over Nikola Bartunkova. Katerina Siniakova lost a very tough match in Rome to Anna Kalinskaya, earning nine match points but losing them all and eventually dropping the match. She is trying to fight back, and she got off to a good start this week in Paris by beating Simona Waltert in straight sets.
Best Bet to Make
Mboko is clearly the better player. Siniakova could make this interesting, but Mboko, having not played much tennis in recent weeks, should be physically fresh. That should enable Mboko to maintain control of this match. She will start well, but being physically ready will enable her to finish well, too. Mboko in straight sets has a very good price, better than what a lot of people might first expect.
That being said, betting on Mboko winning 2:0 is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Mboko winning 2:0 @2.00 @Betway
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
