2022 Charleston Open Best Bets for April 5 (Archive)
The first round concludes and the second round of the Charleston Open begins today in South Carolina.
The weather was beautiful yesterday and set amongst the charming backdrop that the Charleston Open provides, this tournament truly is a visual delight for tennis fans.
Let’s take a look at the WTA odds and find more winning tennis picks.
Madison Keys vs. Ulrikke Eikeri
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 – 07:00 PM EDT at Credit One Stadium
Madison Keys started the season off in fine form. She won the title in Adelaide and then made the semifinals in the Australian Open.
Madison Keys defeated five players ranked in the top 20 during her initial run. It looked like a career resurgence for the 27-year-old American. Unfortunately, her recent results have not been as impressive.
After losing to Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals at the Australian Open, Madison Keys took two losses to Harmony Tan and Petra Martic in her 2 tournaments in Mexico.
Keys made the quarterfinals in Indian Wells before falling to eventual champ Iga Swiatek.
Obviously, we don't downgrade Keys for losses to women such as Ashleigh Barty and Swiatek, but her most recent loss to Anhelina Kalinina is definitely a cause for concern about her recent form.
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In Miami, she fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the Ukrainian Kalinina who is ranked 42nd in the world.
For Keys to move back into the top 20, or top 10, these are matches she's going to need to win. Madison Keys has a good history here in Charleston.
She was the runner-up in 2015 and she lifted the trophy as champion in 2019. This is the only clay-court tournament that Keys has ever won.
Keys will be looking for a better performance after falling in the first round last season to her rival and friend Sloane Stephens.
Ulrikke Eikeri became the first Norwegian woman to win a WTA main draw match since 1991 in her first-round win over Nadiia Kichenok.
The 29-year-old Eikeri has been laboring at the Challenger level and playing qualifying matches for WTA level tournaments.
She defeated Demi Schuurs and Heather Watson to qualify for this event. She is a strong doubles player and she has won 11 ITF titles in singles and 30 ITF titles playing doubles.
She has made most of her money playing doubles yet is still fighting for a spot on the WTA tour as a singles player.
I think Eikeri will put forth another respectable performance today. Although Eikeri will most likely not get the victory, this match will be closer than the WTA odds suggest.
Madison Keys is prone to lulls in her matches where she can give away games. This can be rough when trying to cover the huge game spread WTA odds.
Our first best bet for today's Charleston Open matches is Ulrikke Eikeri +7 games.
Tennis Pick: Ulrikke Eikeri +7 games (-120) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
Jasmine Paolini vs. Jessica Pegula
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 - 08:15 PM EDT at Credit One Stadium
Jessica Pegula had to be pleased with her performance in Miami. She made her seventh career semifinal, and it was her second at the Premier 1000 level.
Pegula has not had previous success here in Charleston. Pegula has failed to qualify 4 out of 7 times here in Charleston. Her best appearance is a third-round showing in 2013 and 2019.
The 28-year-old Jessica Pegula is ranked 13th in the world. Pegula only has one loss to a nonstop 10 player since the Sydney Open, held in the second week of 2022.
Pegula is showing she is ready to take on the WTA's best and compete with anyone.
Jasmine Paolini won her first-round match against Gabriela Lee 6-2, 6-3. Paolini looked strong in the win and saved all five break points that she faced.
Paolini will face a much tougher test today however in Pegula. Paolini is a smaller player who prefers the defensive style.
She is very quick and has excellent court coverage, which should play well on clay. However, she did not have the best results in the clay season last year and will be looking to improve that, as her style of play definitely lends itself to success on the clay surface.
At the tour level last season she was only 3-6 on clay, but she did reach finals in 2 WTA 125k lower-level clay tournaments.
Paolini has not won consecutive matches in a WTA main draw clay-court tournament since 2019. Paolini also does struggle against the top players in the WTA. She has a 3-10 record against players in the top 20
Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini have played three times and in each match, Pegula was the victor in straight sets.
Their most recent outing was last October in Indian Wells where Pegula had a straightforward 6-4, 6-1 victory.
If Pegula plays her strong brand of tennis, she should be able to increase the streak to four wins in a row today.
As much fun as Paolini is to watch, she does struggle against the world's top players for a reason. Paolini is adept at defense but does not have the power to hit through top players, especially on clay.
Her serve can be a liability, which will be an issue against Pegula, who is very tough to break. After watching both players and seeing their style of play, it is not surprising that Pegula has not lost a match yet against Paolini.
Jessica Pegula is heavily favored by betting odds. Once again I feel like this match will be closer than the odds suggest.
Paolini has definitely grown as a player, while she's not ready to get the victory, she should be able to put forth a solid performance. Our second best bet for today's WTA Charleston Open is over 20.5 games.
Tennis Pick: Over 20.5 games (-110) with Bovada
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.