The action continues in Melbourne with the first matches of the 2nd round taking place this Wednesday. Bookmakers Review breaks down the fixtures below and lists the best available odds from green listed bookmakers.
Rogers vs. Barty
After winning her first round match against Annika Beck, Ashleigh Barty already assured her return to the top 200. Despite a slow start with Barty losing the first three games in the match, the Australian proved to be too strong for Beck. Ashleigh showed a great mind-set after the match, saying that the focus was already in the next round and that she wants to go further on this competition.
Playing on Grand Slams clearly brings the best out of Shelby Rogers. After a phenomenal campaign last year in Paris – with Rogers losing only in the quarter-finals against Garbine Muguruza – the American started her campaign in Melbourne with a victory over the world no.4 – Simona Halep. After this win Shelby improved her career record against top 10 players to 2 – 4. Despite Rogers’ terrific result, it’s important to mention that Halep was far from her best due to some physical problems.
This match is scheduled for the Margaret Court Arena in night session, which means that Barty will count with a huge support from the crowd. Looking now to the odds for this game, the value is clearly on Ashleigh’s side with the Australian available at 32/25 at Pinnacle while Coral offers 73/100 for Shelby’s victory.
Riske vs Zhang
This is a very important tournament for Shuai Zhang. Besides the proximity with China, Shuai has also 470 points to defend after reaching the quarter-finals last year. Despite the pressure on Zhang’s shoulders, the Chinese started her campaign with a remarkable performance against Aliaksandra Sasnovich – ending the match with 15 winners and only 11 unforced errors.
Alison Riske is never an easy opponent to face due to her extremely aggressive game style. Even though grass is clearly Alison’s favourite surface, the American can also compete at a good level on Hard Court. Taking a look now to Riske’s campaign in Melbourne so far, the world no.42 defeated her fellow countrywoman – Madison Brengle – in straight sets.
These two players know each other well with a 2 – 2 tie on the h2h. Despite the balance on their previous results, Zhang won their last encounter a few months ago in Beijing. The bookmakers expect a very close match with Zhang at 93/100 at Pinnacle while Riske is available at 1/1 at Bet365. Even though we also expect a close contest, the value is definitely on Zhang’s price.
Calculators
