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Raducanu vs. Sasnovich Odds
Raducanu Odds | -125 |
Sasnovich Odds | +100 |
Total | 21.5 (+100/-120) |
Time | 5 a.m. ET |
Odds via DraftKings. For tips on watching tennis matches, click here. |
Emma Raducanu picked up her first win at the French Open on Monday when she defeated Linda Noskova. However, she'll have another stern test on Tuesday when she faces Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round.
Raducanu played Sasnovich in her first match after winning her shocking US Open title, but she fell by a 6-2, 6-4 score in defeat.
Will we see a similar story on the red clay of Roland Garros?
Raducanu Making Strides on Clay
Entering 2022, the 19-year-old standout hadn't played a single professional match on a clay court. That's right. Before playing a professional match on this surface, Raducanu picked up a major title.
While her run to the US Open came as a massive shock, Raducanu is now a mainstream player, sitting at No. 12 in the world.
Overall, if you had told the Brit she would be 6-4 through 10 professional clay court matches, she'd probably be pleased. Raducanu won her first match in the Davis Cup against Tereza Martincova, and since picked up wins in Madrid and Stuttgart against quality opponents.
Raducanu even competed well with Iga Swiatek, the best tennis player on the planet who thrives particularly on clay. She lost that match 6-4 6-4, but considering Raducanu was +700 before the match started, that's a solid result.
She's a quality ball-striker with solid strokes on both wings and a return game that can put weaker servers in real danger, but clay nullifies some of her power, and her movement on the surface is still lacking.
That will come with time, but Raducanu will look to grind out results as she develops her clay game.
Sasnovich Coming Off Strong Performance
It was a quality first-round showing from Sasnovich against Xinyu Wang as she earned a 6-4, 6-1 win.
Sasnovich 26 winners and just 17 unforced errors in that match as she controlled play and remained steady at all times. Sasnovich thrived on her serve, winning 63% of her first serve points and 53% of her second serve points while conceding just one break of serve.
She also excelled when tasked with facing Raducanu on the slow hard courts of Indian Wells. I wouldn't look too deep into that match, as it was played on a different surface. Raducanu was also playing her first match after a whirlwind couple of months, but Sasnovich dictated play and held tough in key moments.
Sasnovich is capable of redirecting the ball with her backhand wing and that will be crucial on this surface, as wrong-footing Raducanu will be a useful tactic.
Generally, she has a solid game that is best on hard courts, but Sasnovich's 25-15 record on clay courts over the past two years shows she's more than capable of finding wins at Roland Garros.
Betting Value & Pick
While Raducanu was wholly impressive in gutting out a win over Noskova from a set and a break down, she'll have to be far stronger against Sasnovich.
Noskova hit 54 unforced errors and six double faults against just 40 winners, and mentally struggled from ahead. It's understandable considering Noskova is 17 years old and hasn't earned a main draw WTA win, but Sasnovich simply won't be that loose.
On the other hand, the Belarusian will take advantage of Raducanu's clay inexperience in similar fashion.
Pick: Sasnovich ML (+100)