Tennis Betting Advice - January 2019
Djokovic v Nadal – and a 33/1 pick for next week…
Saturday 26th January 2019
In your Ones to Watch email today:
Djokovic v Nadal…
The Women’s Final was a great match for the neutral, going the distance to a third set with plenty of twists and turns on the way.
From a betting point of view this tournament has been a rough one for my selections, and that’s putting it lightly. Petra Kvitova losing 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 to Naomi Osaka being the latest blow.
Congratulations to Osaka, though. This 21-year-old looks set to add more Grand Slams to the two she’s just won back to back.
We’ve got one match left at the Australian Open 2019, and it’s a big one. World No.1 Novak Djokovic takes on my match pick, World No.2 Rafael Nadal. When they met in the final in Melbourne seven years ago, it was an all-time classic. A five hour Battle Royale that went the full stretch to five sets. We could see something similar tomorrow.
One to Watch at 33/1…
The tennis schedule waits for no-one and on Monday morning the weekly tour action resumes with two WTA tournaments.
We’ll look at the WTA St Petersburg draw on Sunday night. The WTA Hua Hin event in Thailand gets underway first of all, and Bet365 are up first with their Outright Winner market.
There’s one player that stands out for me here at a big price, with 33/1 available as I write. Other bookies such as Skybet, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Paddy Power & Betfair Sportsbook should be up with their tournament markets during Sunday.
The five WTA events played so far this season have seen finalists at odds including 20/1, 40/1, 50/1, 66/1 and 100/1. We’re going after a big one this week. And remember, throughout the course of a season, we don’t need many of these to get us feeling good…
Luksika Kumkhum is the outsider pick here. Ranked No.67 in the world, the 25-year-old is Thailand’s top-ranked player by some distance. The next woman on the list is at No.283.
Backing a ‘home’ player is no guarantee of success, but Kumkhum knows this venue very well having competed here several times before – including winning the Hua Hin title in 2017 when it was a lower-tier WTA tournament…
Kumkhum has yet to win a full-scale WTA event. But she ended last season in great form, and if she’s ever going to get a shot at a trophy it looks likely to be in this part of the world.
Luksika ended last season with two lower-tier WTA tournament wins, taking hard court titles in Mumbai and Taipai in November.
Overall, Kumkhum’s best results have come in Asia, with various finals in China, Japan, India and Thailand in the last couple of years.
The draw could have been kinder this week, but big names like Garbine Muguruza don’t always deliver in these smaller tournaments (and in that example Kumkhum can’t meet Muguruza until the semi final stage).
I’ve seen Luksika play a few times and the Thai is a tricky opponent, chipping & charging and not afraid to come in to the net and close out a point early. Outsider prices like the 33/1 Each Way on offer with Bet365 make Kumkhum one to watch here.
Today’s Ones to Watch pick is:
WTA Hua Hin – Toyota Thailand Open
Outright Winner:
BET: Luksika Kumkhum @ 33/1 Each Way
BOOKIES: 33/1 (34.00) Bet365
Latest WTA Hua Hin odds here >>
As I say, other bookies will have their Outright markets up on Sunday. The 1st Round starts around 5am (UK time) on Monday.
I’ll be back Sunday night with a look at the WTA St Petersburg prices.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson