Tennis Betting Advice - February 2018
Bank on the ‘Sloane slump’ to continue...
Monday 26th February 2018
In your Ones to Watch email today:
Our Sunday night early-bird bet for this week was on Kristina Mladenovic for the WTA Acapulco tournament.
Mladenovic was a best price 18/1, 16/1 and 14/1 last night. She can still be backed today at 14/1 with Bet365, William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes (at the time of writing).
Play starts in Acapulco at 10pm, UK time – so the bookies will take their Outright Winner markets down during play overnight.
Sticking with the women’s event in Acapulco, there’s a value price I like for a match set to be scheduled for Tuesday evening (if not Wednesday)...
Bank on the ‘Sloane slump’ to continue...
Sloane Stephens v Pauline Parmentier
WTA Acapulco – Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Match scheduled: Tuesday 9pm+ (TBC)
Rankings: Stephens #13, Parmentier #92
Head-to-Head: 1-1 (last meeting Parmentier 2016)
Sloane Stephens is a name that conjures up nothing but good for us – having won the US Open as our Ones to Watch pick last season, with some of you collecting big payouts on the American at 40/1 and 50/1.
However, sport can be brutal and betting has little room for sentimentality – since that life-changing Grand Slam win in New York, Sloane has yet to win a match...
A post-Grand-Slam-win slump is nothing new in tennis, and Stephens looks very much in a bad run of form right now having lost five matches in a row (and retired from another when losing).
She hasn’t played Pauline Parmentier since 2016 (lost on clay) and their only hard-court meeting was a 2 sets to 1 win for Stephens right back in 2012.
In both previous meetings backing the Frenchwoman with a +4.5 Games Handicap would have paid out with games to spare. With the situation in mind, this week’s match looks a pretty good opportunity to back Parmentier with a head-start.
Neither player has been in great form so far in 2018, but the pressure and spotlight is on Stephens so this represents something of a free hit for her 32-year-old opponent.
Stephens is only 24 and has plenty of time to get her game back. But right now we can’t be having short prices and top-level favouritism for her in the betting – Sloane is just 1/4 (1.25) to win the match and is also odds-on to win by 5 games or more on the -4.5 Games Handicap.
Parmentier has to be the value here and I like her in both markets – the match win at 11/4 (3.75) and around Evens+ (2.00) with a +4.5 Games Handicap.
WTA Acapulco – Abierto Mexicano Telcel
BET: Pauline Parmentier to beat Sloane Stephens @ 11/4
BOOKIES: 11/4 (3.75) Bet365, SunBets, Boylesports, BetVictor, 13/5 (3.60) Betway, William Hill
STAKE: 1 pt
Latest odds here
BET: Pauline Parmentier +4.5 Games Handicap to beat Sloane Stephens @ Evens
BOOKIES: Evens (2.00) Betfred, Betfair Sportsbook, Marathonbet, Betway, 9/10 (1.90) Bet365, Coral, William Hill
STAKE: 1 pt
Latest odds here
I’ll be back on Wednesday, looking at more of this week’s tournaments and match opportunities for us.
Enjoy the tennis...
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson