WTA Lyon 2022 Best Bets for March 1 (Archive)
This is a relatively quiet week in the tennis world. The premier tournament in Indian Wells begins next week and many players take this week off in order to prepare for the important event. In fact, the ATP does not even schedule tournaments this week as most players have their eyes focused on the desert where the prestigious tournament will take place.
However, this is a great opportunity for the WTA and for the women’s players to take center stage. The highest-ranked players on the women’s tour will not be in the tournaments this week. Still, there are two tournaments scheduled with 250 ranking points up for grabs. The women entering usually need these ranking points in order to try to avoid qualifying for tournaments for the rest of the year.
So while the biggest names in women’s tennis will not be playing, we still have many fierce competitors who will be trying their best to win these matches and secure valuable ranking points. With this in mind, I will be writing about WTA Lyon and WTA Monterrey this week. Due to the WTA Monterrey draw ceremony being late on Sunday, I will focus today’s article on WTA Lyon. WTA Lyon is an indoor tournament that many European players enjoy playing.
It is a beautiful tournament site and a beautiful city, so many women are happy to play here before flying to California. With all this in mind let’s take a look at the schedule to find the winning tennis picks.
Kristina Mladenovic vs. Shuai Zhang
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 – 4:00 AM EST (approximate time) at Palais des Sports Gerland
Kristina Mladenovic has been on a losing streak lately. She has yet to win a match in 2022. She was dispatched in the first round of the Australian Open against Belinda Bencic. She followed that up with a loss to Erika Andreeva, the Russian wild card in Saint Petersburg. Most recently she fell to the Polish player Magdalena Frech in Dubai. Mladenovic will be looking for a nice rebound here in her home country of France tonight.
Shuai Zhang has been much more active this season going 4-6 on the year. Most recently she cruised through qualifying in Doha before being crushed by Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round 6-1, 6-1. Zhang now travels to Lyon to try and turn her momentum around against the former top-10 player Mladenovic.
Mladenovic was once one of the top players in the world but her form has dropped drastically as of late. Mladenovic still has an excellent serve which should play well here on the quick indoor courts. Where Mladenovic struggles is her consistency from the baseline. Mladenovic has made far too many unforced errors to be competitive at the top level.
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Zhang is a defensive player and this should make for an interesting matchup. Mladenovic will definitely get to be in her favorite position of aggressor and Zhang has no problem being the counter puncher. If Zhang is able to get Mladenovic to make unforced errors, she will cruise to victory. If Mladenovic feels comfortable on her home court with the quick surface and her serve lands consistently, Mladenovic will be able to get the win.
Zhang and Mladenovic have played 6 times with Mladenovic winning 4. However, Zhang's 2 wins were their most recent matchups. Zhang won last year in Nottingham, a grass event that plays quickly like today's surface. Zhang won that match 3-6, 6-2, 7-6. She also beat Mladenovic in France last October 6-3, 6-2.
At the current WTA odds, I do believe there is value in Mladenovic to get her first win of the season. While Zhang has beaten Mladenovic recently and Mladenovic comes into the match in poor form, I believe that she will use this surface to be able to turn her season around. Mladenovic is still a power player who can dial-up serves and aces, and that style plays very well on indoor hard courts. Our first bet for the day will be Kristina Mladenovic ML.
WTA Pick: Kristina Mladenovic ML (+132) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Vera Zvonareva vs. Alison Van Uytvanck
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 - 4:00 AM EST (4:00 AM EST (approximate time) at Palais des Sports Gerland
Vera Zvonareva comes into the match on a five-match losing streak. Her only win in 2022 was her first match of the year a 7-5, 6-3 win over Alison Riske at the Melbourne Summer Set WTA tournament. Yes, Zvonareva has struggled this season, but she has struggled against top players. The losses she has suffered against the upstart Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Tereza Martincova, and Ons Jabeur. Her most recent match was a loss to Alison Van Uytvanck in Doha 6-4, 6-4.
Alison Van Uytvanck is 3-4 on the season. After beating Vera Zvonareva in Doha, she lost to Jil Teichmann 7-6, 7-5. She now heads to Lyon to play on the best surface for her style, indoor hard courts.
Alison Van Uytvanck has a big serve that plays very well on hard courts. Van Uytvanck is an excellent doubles player and she can get to the net to put away rallies when given the opportunity. Van Uytvanck is not the most mobile player so she prefers the quick points and short rallies that are prevalent on indoor hard courts.
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Vera Zvonareva is a great player but she is definitely past her prime. We must give credit to Zvonareva for playing for the love of the game, but she is not the player she once was. Still, Zvonareva can summon some of her old magic at certain times, and show why she was once one of the top players in the world.
Just like in Doha, I expect Alison Van Uytvanck to get the win. The surface in Lyon will be even more beneficial to Van Uytvanck’s style and I believe she will take advantage of it. I expect Van Uytvanck to get plenty of aces and service winners en route to an easy victory. The second play for WTA Lyon is Alison Van Uytvanck -3.5 games.
WTA Pick: Alison Van Uytvanck -3.5 Games (-115) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline 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.