Abierto GNP Seguros 2022 Best Bets for March 3 (Archive)
The round of 16 continues in Monterrey, Mexico as players vie for 250 ranking points. Although these aren’t the world’s highest-ranked players, there’s been plenty of excellent tennis action this week. So far it’s been a fun week of tennis in a venue that the fans enjoy. Let’s take a look at today’s matches to find another winning tennis pick.
Petra Martic vs. Marie Bouzkova
Thursday, March 3, 2022 – 09:15 PM EST at GNP Estadio
Marie Bouzkova
Marie Bouzkova is coming off a long week of tennis. She made the finals last week in Guadalajara before losing a three-set match to Sloane Stephens. Regardless, it was a great performance from Bouzkova. It was excellent preparation for Indian Wells and she won valuable ranking points. Bouzkova continued her run this week and started with a three-set win over Sara Errani.
The fatigue was evident because Bouzkova is a much better player than Errani but she made many mistakes. After a long week of tennis, it appears that fatigue is finally catching up to the talented Czech player.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
Her opponent today Petra Martic had an excellent 2020 season. However, in 2021 she definitely struggled and finished the year on a losing streak. Martic has had a slow start to this season and is only 2-3 in 2022.
Martic's last tournament before entering WTA Monterrey was in St. Petersburg, where she fell in the first round to Elise Mertens. She's now trying to gain some ranking points and some momentum to turn around the disastrous season she had last year.
Petra Martic
Petra Martic is an all-around player. Martic is tall so she can definitely strike down a powerful first-serve when needed. She's also consistent on the baseline and can switch between power shots and defense. Martic also employs a tactical slice backhand that controls the tempo of the rallies.
When Martic was at her peak, she was very tough to beat due to this consistency. However, last season she fell prey to unforced errors, and her ability to play defense was deeply diminished.
In January 2020, Martic was ranked #14 in the world. She is currently #86 and looking to improve on that. At 31 years old, the Croatian native realizes she only has a few years left to make the big money that being on the top of the WTA tour affords. She has won one singles title in her career, the Istanbul Cup in 2019.
Her best performance at a Grand Slam is reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2019. She has won 4 tournaments at the ITF level but is now strictly a WTA level player.
Video Picks: Watch BMR's Free Expert Sports Betting Picks of the Day
Martic knows about overcoming adversity. Martic's father died in a car crash when she was only 5. Martic was raised by her mother, which wasn't easy in Croatia. Martic was inspired by her mother to play tennis at the highest level and bring joy and security to her family. Martic is an inspiring individual and is very easy to root for.
Martic started playing professional tennis in 2007, at only 16 years old. She had a moderate amount of success and was making a good living. She played consistently on the WTA Tour until 2016 before a disc protrusion in her lower back derailed her and threatened to end her career.
True to the fighting spirit she has always shown, Martic doubled down her efforts in physical therapy, and after a 10-month layoff returned to the tour. She managed to return to the top 100 in 2017, after almost being forced to retire.
Head to Head
In a more neutral situation, I would like Marie Bouzkova in this matchup, but with the fatigue coming into play I believe this is an excellent opportunity for Martic to get a momentum-building win. Martic definitely needs the ranking points and played very well in her win yesterday over Madison Keys.
Keys is a powerful player and Martic did well to counteract her power and also switched the pace quite often, by flipping in between slice and topspin backhands.
Keys did not seem one hundred percent healthy and took an MTO for her shoulder, but Martic did not get impatient. She was content to wear Keys down and eventually got the victory. This was a good win for Martic because Keys is such a talented player that even when she doesn't play her best, she is still capable of beating most women.
Therefore, we will be taking the Petra Martic tennis odds today against Bouzkova. I believe she has an excellent opportunity to get some much-needed momentum going into Indian Wells. The fatigue will be catching up to Bouzkova, and as talented as her game and groundstrokes are, this will be the end of the line for the Czech player.
She can get some much-needed rest heading into next week's premier event in Indian Wells. Our bet for today at WTA Monterrey is Petra Martic ML.
Tennis Pick: Petra Martic ML (+152) at Bookmaker (visit our Bookmaker Review)
*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.