2022 Internazionali BNL d’Italia Free Betting Preview and Picks (Archive)
It’s time for the semifinals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. Four women and four men all vie for a spot into tomorrow’s final. With lucrative prize money and valuable ranking points on the line, each player has the motivation to put forth their best effort.
Let’s take a look at these semifinal matches to find more winning tennis picks and enjoy the weekend.
Iga Swiatek vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Saturday, May 14, 2022 – 06:00 AM EDT at Center Court
How's Sabalenka's Form Coming Into This Match?
In another match that features a rematch between the world's top-ranked players, world number one Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Stuttgart Open in April. Swiatek has yet to lose a match since that encounter.
Sabalenka is finding her form at the perfect time with the French Open just a week away. Swiatek has been close to invulnerable on the court. The Belarusian player is getting better match by match. Can Sabalenka defeat Swiatek, or even improve on her results?
This match represents an excellent benchmark for both players but especially for Sabalenka. Sabalenka has been in the top 10 for a while now, but winning matches such as today represent the hurdles she's going to need to clear to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming world number one.
How's Swiatek's Form Coming Into This Match?
Iga Swiatek was put to the test in the first set against Bianca Andreescu. After winning a tense tiebreak, Swiatek shifted gears and then blew Andreescu off the court. She won the second set 6-0.
It was an utterly dominating performance where Swiatek won 82% of her first-serve points and Andreescu only won 18% of hers. It showed once again the gulf between Swiatek and every other player in the world.
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova for the first time in her career in the quarterfinal here in Rome. Sabalenka was 0-4 against Anisimova before grabbing the 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. It was an excellent win for Sabalenka, who has always struggled with Anisimova's ability to match her pace and power.
Sebalanka faces a different challenge today, however, against the well-rounded and versatile Iga Swiatek who's also a heavy favorite according to the latest WTA odds.
How to Bet Swiatek vs. Sabalenka?
Once again we will take Iga Swiatek! As I said yesterday, there is no reason to bet against Swiatek on clay at this point in her career. No player can touch the level of dominance that she is displaying.
As great as Aryna Sabalenka is, Swiatek is on a different level from the rest of the WTA tour. Swiatek’s versatile game will pose problems, and Swiatek has the defensive acumen to coax errors out of Sabalenka. Our first bet for today's Italian Open is Iga Swiatek on the spread.
WTA Pick: Iga Swiatek -5 Games (-125) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
Alexander Zverev vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Saturday, May 14, 2022 - 08:30 AM EDT at Center Court
Zverev vs. Tsitsipas Betting Preview
It feels like I just wrote about this match last week...Oh wait, that's because I did! Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas met in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open last week. Zverev was the winner, moving his career head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 4-7.
It was Zverev's first win on the clay courts over Tsitsipas. The Greek star still owns the head-to-head advantage over Zverev on clay 3-1 in their careers. They are 1-1 against each other on this current clay-court swing, with Zverev winning in Spain and Tsitsipas getting the victory in Monte Carlo.
Both Monte Carlo and Madrid played much quicker than the clay here in Rome. Today's surface will be the biggest surface edge that Tsitsipas has had so far in this clay swing. In a matchup against Zverev, the slower the clay, the bigger advantage for Tsitsipas.
Path to Victory
As we discussed yesterday, Tsitsipas' one-handed backhand plays so much better on slower clay where he can accentuate topspin in more prolonged rallies. Tsitsipas excels when he can use his point construction to eventually get a shorter shot in which he flattens out the backhand.
Zverev employs a more powerful backhand, but he can get timid on the groundstrokes. Zverev will need to be aggressive today, for he does not want to get into a defensive battle with Tsitsipas.
If Zverev allows Tsitsipas to be the predominant aggressor, he will struggle to get another clay-court victory against his biggest rival and favorite to win this match, according to the most recent ATP odds.
Zverev vs. Tsisipas Betting Pick
I like Stefanos Tsitsipas to get the win here today. Zverev does have the recent victory over him, but the clay in Madrid is much closer to the hard-court that favors Zverev. The clay here in Italy is much more conducive to the game of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
I believe that the results will be similar to when they met in Monte Carlo earlier this season. Tsitsipas will get the win. Our last bet for today's Italian Open is Stefanos Tsitsipas -2 Games.
ATP Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas -2 Games (-115) at Bovada
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