WTA Nottingham has featured excellent grass-court tennis, and the action continues Wednesday!
I’ve found value on two of Wednesday's matchups — Donna Vekic vs. Viktorija Golubic and Magdalena Frech vs. Lin Zhu.
Read on for my WTA Nottingham picks and predictions.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing tennis matches and seeing tennis odds.
WTA Nottingham Odds, Picks
Donna Vekic (-250) vs Viktorija Golubic (+190)
6:15 a.m. ET
Donna Vekic beat Cristina Bucsa 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the first round. Vekic won 63% of her service points and was broken on three occasions. On return, the Croat won 53% of her return points and broke the Spaniard's serve seven times.
Vekic has a strong 39-28 career record on grass. Her game works well on grass, especially her big first serve. From the ground, Vekic hits with controlled aggression from both wings, although her forehand is particularly potent.
Vekic's movement isn't great, but she moves well enough on grass, especially given her raw power. She does a great job of rushing her opponents with aggressive groundstrokes.
Viktorija Golubic comfortably defeated Jil Teichmann 6-4, 6-3 to advance in Nottingham. Golubic won 62% of her service points and was only broken twice. Golubic also won 52% of her return points.
Golubic reached the quarterfinals of Surbiton (grass) last week, but fell to Katie Boulter in straight sets and is now 3-1 on grass this season. The Swiss has a solid 32-25 record on grass as a professional. Golubic hits her spots on serve and spreads the court well. Golubic's variety is a weapon on grass, especially her backhand slice and touch. However, she lacks power and her one-handed backhand is an easy target.
Vekic has the service edge and plays with the better controlled aggression from the baseline. She should force Golubic to be on the defensive much more often than she'd like.
Golubic needs time from the baseline to effectively spread the court and employ her variety, but, she won't have that time against Vekic. And, while Golubic was able to get into Teichmann's service games quite often, it will be much tougher to break down Vekic's serve.
Pick: Vekic -3.5 games (-135 via BetMGM)
Magdalena Frech (-165) vs Lin Zhu (+128)
7:30 a.m. ET
Magdalena Frech started strong in Nottingham, beating Sonay Kartal 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Frech won 67% of her service points and was only broken twice. On return, the Pole won 56% of her second-serve returns..
Frech has an impressive 31-18 record on grass and understands how to adapt her game to the surface. The grass gives Frech's serve a boost and she's able to hit with power from the baseline. Frech's variety, particularly her slices, provide a change of pace, but what's most apparent when watching the Pole is how well she moves on the grass. Frech's defense and ability to neutralize points on such a slick surface is incredible to watch.
Lin Zhu defeated an erratic Alycia Parks 7-6(5), 6-2 in the first round. Zhu won 70% of her first serves and saved eight of 10 break points. She was also the beneficiary of 14 double faults, which helped her win 43% of her return points. Zhu broke on four occasions.
Zhu snapped a five-match losing streak with this victory, but has just a 12-22 record on grass. Zhu's win over Parks was more about the American hitting herself out of the match than anything. Zhu has decent power from the ground and on her serve, but doesn't do anything special. Zhu's not particularly consistent, doesn't have good variety and isn't comfortable moving on grass. She also struggles to handle the bounce on grass.
Frech should be a bigger favorite here. She's got more experience on grass and is much more comfortable on the surface. Frech should utilize her slices to keep the ball low and out of Zhu's strike zone.
Frech's returning and defensive skills should frustrate Zhu, who doesn't have the power to hit through the Pole from the baseline and doesn't have a good understanding of how to construct points on grass. Zhu won't be able to rely on many free points on serve and should overhit from the baseline during rallies.
Pick: Frech -2.5 games (-115 via PointsBet)
