The WTA Eastbourne concludes with the final on Saturday. This is the last match before Wimbledon. It is also a chance for two established WTA Tour veterans to lift a trophy and add a title to their resumes. The semifinals were both cut short by retirements. Jelena Ostapenko and Petra Marcinko both failed to make it through their respective matches. This puts Tatjana Maria against Madison Keys in the final. It is notable that both semifinals, not just one, had retirements. This means both finalists will come into this match on similar footing. It’s not a case of one player having had a longer or tougher match than the other. The finalists had the same basic experience and didn’t have to overplay in the semis. It makes this match even more interesting to watch and bet on. LWOS has our best bet for the final. Post your best bets and thoughts in the comments.
WTA Eastbourne
Maria – Keys: 7:00 EST
H2H: 1-3
Tatjana Maria has had an excellent grass season going into this WTA Eastbourne final. The German veteran has won 10 grass matches this season. Few of her peers on the WTA Tour have been able to do that. It’s clear that Maria loves playing on grass and tries to play as many matches as she can on the surface. She knows that the grass season is her big chance to make money and gain ranking points. She is making the most of her opportunity and is just one win from winning a WTA Tour title. Maria has been on the tour for a very long time. This might be her last chance to win a championship of any kind. With older athletes, the challenge of playing an important match is difficult because that player doesn’t know if she will get another opportunity quite like this one.
Madison Keys is several years younger than Maria, but she is still over 30 years old and has been through a lot in her career. Keys has a huge serve and a big forehand, which should play well on a faster surface such as grass, but Keys hasn’t always been consistent on grass. As she gets older, she has gotten wiser, and this week, she has been a steady player who looks comfortable and at home on the lawns of WTA Eastbourne. The big question for Keys going into this final is if she can play the same great tennis she has been playing, but against a better opponent than the ones she has faced earlier in the week. Maria is a grass specialist, so Keys has to be ready for a style of match that might force her into uncomfortable positions.
Best Bet to Make
Madison Keys has been on a roll this week, and after not having to play a full-length semifinal match on Friday, she should be physically fresh for this WTA Eastbourne final. However, Tatjana Maria, who is getting closer and closer to being 40 years old, needed a low-stress Friday semifinal match more than Keys did. Both players played shortened matches on Friday, so in that sense, they are coming into the final in the same position, but since Maria is several years older than Keys, the German needed the added rest more than the American did. These are both in-form players, but Maria knows this might be her last real chance to win a WTA Tour title. Keys is probably going to get a few more chances in her career if she stays healthy. Maria might not win the match outright, but she should be able to keep it close. This looks like a situation in which Maria can push the WTA Eastbourne final to three sets. The price, always good for over 2.5 sets, is especially great in this case. You have to jump on this.
That being said, betting on over 2.5 sets is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: over 2.5 sets @2.80 @betsson
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
