The action begins this Monday in Melbourne with the first round of the WTA Australian Open taking place. Bookmakers Review breaks down the fixtures below and lists the best available odds from green listed bookmakers.
Barty vs. Beck
Due to her low ranking – currently outside top 200 – Ashleigh Barty received a wild card to play this event. The 20 years old is making her comeback after almost two years away from competition. Despite Barty’s recent withdrawal from Hobart, the Australian said that she’s at 100% and the reason for that retirement was to have a couple of days to prepare this competition.
Annika Beck holds great memories from this event after reaching the 4th round last year. However, it won’t be easy for the German to present her best tennis after winning only one match since September 2016. Besides her lack of success in recent months, the 240 points that Beck has to defend in Melbourne make this a very tough match for her.
Even though Annika is a great competitor with a solid baseline game, Barty should be too strong for the German. Adding to Ashleigh’s higher quality, she’ll also count with a tremendous support from the crowd. The bookmakers think the same with the Australian priced as the favourite for this match at 57/100 at BetVictor while 5Dimes offers 8/5 for Beck’s victory.
Vandeweghe vs. Vinci
Coco Vandeweghe and Roberta Vinci feature one of the most fascinating matches of the day in Melbourne.
Known as one of the most powerful players on the WTA Tour, Vandeweghe is always a dangerous opponent to face. Despite Coco’s poor 2 – 5 record on this event’s main draw, the American improved her game throughout 2016. Due to the hot weather, the game conditions should be quite fast this Monday in Melbourne, something that clearly suits Vandeweghe’s powerful game.
After some doubts about a possible retirement last year, Vinci decided to give it another shot in 2017. The Italian is always an interesting player to watch with her delightful one handed backhand slice. However, the high bouncing conditions in Melbourne are not ideal for that shot, giving too much time for her opponents. This is one of the reasons for Roberta’s lower success on this event when compared to the other major events – especially Wimbledon and the US Open.
Vandeweghe won their last two matches, including one in Wimbledon 2016. The American can create a lot of problems to the Italian’s backhand, which makes this a great opportunity to claim another victory against this opponent. For that reason, Coco is the right play on this match at 4/5 at William Hill while Pinnacle offers 107/100 for Vinci to win.
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