Thrilling Quarterfinal Billings at the Hansol Korea Open

Hansol, Korea – The quarterfinal round of the WTA Hansol Korea Open is upon us and highlighting the action packed Thursday line-up is top seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia and second seed Shahar Peer of Israel. Four of the top eight through are seeded players and joining them in the quarters are veterans Jill Craybas and Samantha Stosur and up-and comers Yanina Wickmayer and Ekaterina Makarova. So with such an exciting round of tennis betting on offer at BetUS Sportsbook here is a quick rundown of all the four matches.

Tennis Betting Line: Jill Craybas +190 Shahar Peer -275

Match Time: 10:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday September 25, 2008

Tennis Betting Verdict: Veteran American player Jill Craybas at 34 years old is the oldest player still alive in the tournament. She brought a 27-25 mark to Hansol and in reaching the quarters, she improved to 29-25. Her highlights include a runner-up finish at the Pattaya Open and a semi appearance in Acapulco earlier this year. Last week she reached the quarters in Guangzhou (l. Peng Shuai ). This is the first time the American meets Shahar Peer in tournament play.

No.37 Shahar Peer has dropped out of the top 20 during the course of this year. She has struggled in tournaments and brings only a 24-22 mark into the quarters. She started the year well with a semi appearance in Gold Coast and Memphis, but since then she has not made a final four appearance. She has an opportunity to do so here.

Tennis Free Picks: Peer in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Samantha Stosur -175 Ekaterina Makarova +135

Match Time: 10:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday September 25, 2008

Tennis Betting Verdict: No.73 Samantha Stosur of Australia has been around for some time, ranking as high as No.27 at the start of last year (January 2007). Injuries sidelined her and caused her ranking to slip. She returned to tournament action in the late spring months of this year ranked beyond the top 100. Given some encouraging results, she has worked her way back into the top 100. She reached the semis in Eastbourne and the quarters in Stanford. She is 23-12 coming into this match.

The 20-year-old, Ekaterina Makarova, is just one of many players to come from the prolific depths of Russia’s pool of talent. She is 24-21 for the year her best performance was a quarterfinal run in Eastbourne. This is her first event since reaching the upending Ana Chakvetadze en route to a third round appearance at the US Open. Makarova is an interesting young player and has the game to challenge Stosur.

Tennis Free Picks: Makarova in three sets

Tennis Betting Line: Maria Kirilenko -300 Pauline Parmentier +200

Match Time: 10:00 PM Eastern Time Thursday September 25, 2008

Tennis Betting Verdict: No.33 Maria Kirilenko picked up two titles this season – Estoril and Barcelona (both clay court events). Clearly, clay is her strongest surface but she has had some noteworthy results on hard – a semi appearance in Cincinnati (l. to Petrova) and a R16 at the Australian Open (l. to Hantuchova). No.48 Pauline Parmentier of France picked up one title this season in Bad Gastein (clay) and brings a 19-20 mark into the quarters. Given that, Kirilenko has enjoyed better hard court results this season she has the edge over Parmentier in the quarters.