Tennis Betting Advice - August 2019
Off to Canada at 33/1…
Monday 5th August 2019
In your Ones to Watch email today:
Ones to Watch at the Rogers Cup…
We’re off to Canada this week with the annual Rogers Cup in Montreal & Toronto. This is a prestigious Masters 1000 level event for the men, and a Premier 5 for the women.
Play starts from 4pm today at WTA Toronto and 5pm at ATP Montreal. You can watch live on BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video respectively.
Three players catch the eye for me in this week’s draws…
ATP Montreal
Twelve of the last 15 men’s Rogers Cup titles have been swept up by the Big Four of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. However only one of that quartet are playing here this year, with Nadal the 2/1 tournament favourite.
Rafa is in the top half of the draw. In the opposite side, we’re backing a teenager at an attractive price…
An exciting young Canadian has the chance to impress in front of a home crowd here.
At just 18 years of age (he turns 19 on Thursday), Felix Auger-Aliassime has already shown what he can do at ATP Masters 1000 level. In March he became the Miami Open’s youngest ever semi-finalist. That result helped him become the first player born in the 2000s to reach the world’s Top 50.
Now ranked No.21 and with finals in Stuttgart and Lyon – and a semi final at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s – Felix is most definitely a player on the up and one to watch. He stands out at odds of 25/1 or 20/1 here.
WTA Toronto
The Rogers Cup men’s & women’s tournaments alternate between Montreal & Toronto each year. This time it’s the turn of Toronto to host the WTA event. Belinda Bencic has made just one appearance at the Rogers Cup before – winning the title here in Toronto in 2015…
Now aged 22 and having had an impressive 2019 season including multiple wins over Top 10 players and two finals (won one) and a further three semi finals on the tour, the current world No.12 is looking more likely than ever to push on and fulfil the promise she showed as a teenager and in the Juniors.
With 54 matches under her belt this season (37 wins = 69%), Bencic has already played the same amount of tennis as last season – and more matches than in both 2017 in total and 2016, when injuries were holding the Swiss back. At 33/1 and 28/1, Belinda could prove good value this week.
Bencic is in the top half of the Toronto draw. In the bottom half, I’m taking a rare foray into backing a Top 5 player at single-figure odds. World No.2 Naomi Osaka looks ready to get back in business at 8/1…
After a phenomenal run that saw her win the US Open 2018 followed by the Australian Open 2019 and become world No.1, Osaka has had an understandable drop-off in form. Harder to fathom in the perceived lack of confidence and enjoyment on court; but sport is a funny thing and the mental pressures of being expected to perform can never be underestimated.
Naomi has spoken openly of her struggles recently – saying she “hasn’t had fun since Australia.” But feels she has learned from the experience of hitting the top spot so fast and all that goes with it. Naomi now says she’s “really excited” about the future.
Let’s not forget this is a player ranked No.2 in the world who has won 73% of her matches this season (played 30 won 22). That’s serious form despite any ‘slump’ – and back on hard courts after a tough grass season, Osaka will be back playing on her best surface this week.
Today’s Ones to Watch picks:
Outright Winner:
ATP Montreal – Rogers Cup
BET: Felix Auger-Aliassime @ 25/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 25/1 (26.00) Betfair Sportsbook, Paddy Power, 20/1 (21.00) Skybet, Boylesports
WTA Toronto – Rogers Cup
BET: Belinda Bencic @ 33/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 33/1 (34.00) Bet365, Betfair Sportsbook, Paddy Power, 32/1 (33.00) NetBet, 10Bet, 28/1 (29.00) Skybet, Ladbrokes, Coral, Boylesports
BET: Naomi Osaka @ 8/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 8/1 (9.00) Bet365, Skybet, Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill, Boylesports
I’ll be back during the week with more from Canada.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson