The Grand Slam season might be over, but the WTA rolls on in Chicago this week.
We look at three of the best WTA Chicago matches for Wednesday, including Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Jessica Pegula vs Andrea Petkovic.
Tennis betting is available for all three matches, which kicks off at 12:00 pm.
Pegula vs Petkovic
American Jessie Pegula is the raging-hot favorite against Andrea Petkovic, and her recent results are the reason why.
Pegula has won seven of her last 10 matches, including statement victories over Camila Giorgi and Danielle Collins. She got through the first round in Chicago with a straight sets win over Magdalena Frech, so she’s in good form.
Jessie Pegula takes care of Naomi Osaka in straight sets at the Italian Open!!
Her run up the tennis rankings continues. pic.twitter.com/FEMCvu5NiA
— Trainwreck Sports (@TrainwreckSprts) May 12, 2021
Petkovic also scored a 2-0 win, which was a solid bounce back after suffering a straight sets loss to Garbine Muguruza at the U.S. Open. She also has a commanding recent record, winning eight of her last 10. Most of those came on the clay, including a tournament win in Romania.
Pegula won the most recent meeting in 2019, and she should have the edge on this surface.
Laying -475 is a short price for the American, and she should get the job done.
Pick: Jessie Pegula -475
Sasnovich vs Rybakina
Elena Rybakina is a top 20 player and comes with expectation. We expect her to play well in Chicago, and she could have a chance to win the tournament.
The Kazakhstani is looking for a confidence boost after getting ousted in Ostrava against Iga Swiatek. Losing to a Grand Slam champion isn’t the worst thing in the world, but Rybakina will be hoping to get back to winning form against Sasnovich.
She won the previous meeting 2-0 in the U.S. Open, so that will give the world number 17 plenty of confidence on Wednesday.
Sasnovich defeated Marion Keys, who pulled out after losing the opening set on Tuesday. Not having to be on court for a long time will help the Belarusian, who is desperately seeking confidence.
She has lost four of her last seven games, so progressing past the second round would be a big confidence boost. However, as the sportsbook suggests, we think she’ll struggle against a top-level opponent.
Rybakina is one of many Kazakh tennis players who are making strides in world tennis. Tennis director Dave Miley has injected resources behind them.
“We know every player, their coach, how many hours they’re playing, whether they are doing fitness. We are able to give them the tournaments to develop,” Miley told ATP Tour. “We can boost their resources whilst making sure they are doing the right things that all over countries are doing.”
Rybakina is the -450 favorite and a five-game favorite in spread betting. We are confident enough to lay the five games with Rybakina for more value.
Pick: Elena Rybakina -5 (-115)
Vondrousova vs Pavlyuchenkova
We think Marketa Vondrousova is a good bet at -115, despite being the higher-ranked player against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
She scored a 2-0 win over Tomljanovic in the first round, which is an excellent betting guide. It was a good bounce back after losing in the fourth round at Luxembourg, and she could keep the roll going.
.@Ajlatom and Marketa Vondrousova chat while waiting for their Chicago R1 match to start pic.twitter.com/cCs6kHwrvS
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) September 28, 2021
Pavlyuchenko lost in the second round at Ostrava, and the world number 13 could struggle to wrestle the momentum back.
Betting online markets suggest as much, as Pavlyuchenko would typically be the favorite against Vondrousova. However, we think the markets are spot on, so include the favorite in your WTA Chicago parlays.
Pick: Marketa Vondrousova -115
