Women’s tennis is back for the 2022 season, as players start their preparation for the Australian Open.
With a WTA 500 event in Adelaide and two WTA 250’s in the Melbourne Summer Set series, there are plenty of chances to profit on women’s tennis tonight.
Let’s look more closely at two matches that stand out to me among tonight’s card.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for advice on watching tennis matches.
Shelby Rogers (+200) vs Maria Sakkari (-255)
9 p.m. ET, Adelaide International
Shelby Rogers had a comfortable start to her tournament in Adelaide, beating Maddison Inglis 6-1, 6-3. Rogers won 67% of her service points and an astonishing 55% of her return points, showing very little rust to her game in her first match of 2022.
Rogers had a strong finish to 2021, winning multiple matches in three-straight hard court events to finish off the year. This included a round of 16 appearance at the US Open and victories over players such as Ashleigh Barty, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez.
Maria Sakkari took down Tamara Zidansek in her first match of 2022. It was a topsy-turvy match, with Sakkari showing some rust during her 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 victory. Sakkari will want to improve on her second serve, as she only won 42% of her second-serve points during the match.
Sakkari, currently number six in the world, probably wished there weren't a tennis offseason. The Greek made the semifinals of both the US Open and WTA Finals during the tail-end of the season.
Both of these players are good hard-court players who emphasize their baseline game and won’t blow each other away with power. Sakkari’s forehand is the best shot on the court, but Rogers does a good job of blunting power and turning the tide during points.
With Sakkari seeming a bit shaky to start the year and given Rogers’ pedigree on hard courts (she also made US Open quarterfinal in 2020), this match will be closer than the odds indicate.
Pick: Shelby Rogers +1.5 sets (-135 via DraftKings)
Anna Bondar (+170) vs Katerina Siniakova (-215)
10 p.m. ET, Melbourne Summer Set
Anna Bondar has started the 2022 season strong, making it through qualifying without losing a set. This includes a win over in the final qualifying round over Mai Hontama, whose consistent depth on hard courts have made her increasingly tough to play on the surface. Bondar also comfortably beat Leonie Kung in the first qualifying round.
Bondar finished the 2021 season well, although that success was largely on clay. Bondar qualified for the WTA indoor-hard event in Cluj-Napoca, won the clay Buenos Aires Challenger, and then won the W60 clay event in Santiago before losing — at least in part due to fatigue — at the WTA Challenger in Montevideo (which was also on the dirt).
Katerina Siniakova is best known for her doubles success, where she is a three-time major champion, but she’s also a high-level competitor in singles. Siniakova is consistent from the baseline and does a great job flattening out her backhand to put opponents on the defensive.
However, this is her match of the season and she lost five-of-seven to end her 2021 campaign.
These are going to be two good baseline players going to battle. Siniakova is certainly the better hard court player, with her hard-court Elo rating 161.1 points above Bondar’s, yet Bondar’s career hard-court winning percentage of 62%, and 2021 hard-court winning percentage of 63%, aren’t anything to scoff at. She can take her game off of clay.
Siniakova is playing her first match of the season against an in-form opponent who ended 2021 strong as well. Siniakova is already a mercurial player, leading to some big shifts in momentum.
Expect this match to be tight.
Pick: Over 20.5 Games (-135 via PointsBet)
