Tennis Betting Advice - July 2021
Olympic underdog at 66/1...
Monday 26th July 2021
In Ones to Watch today:
As promised, I’m back with my a big-price outsider for the women’s tennis event at the Tokyo Olympics…
After this morning’s play completed, the bookies updated their Outright Winner markets. And the freshly updated quotes make pleasant reading to me. With the player I’ve got my eye on, Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, available at 66/1 Each Way.
Sorribes Tormo has featured in Ones to Watch a couple of times this season. The 24-year-old is having a breakout year, winning a maiden WTA title. And climbing to a new high inside the world’s Top 50.
Olympic underdog at 66/1…
Sara is also making a name for herself as something of a marathon woman on the tour. The Spaniard has been described as the ‘toughest out’ on the circuit. The plan seems to be: get fitter than anyone else, fight for every single ball, and rally as if your life depends on it. To borrow a horseracing term, she will ‘stay all day.’
Those trademark qualities were in evidence at Wimbledon, where Sara’s three-set defeat in the 2nd round to eventual semi-finalist Angelique Kerber was many observers’ match of the tournament. An epic 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 scoreboard, in a high-quality contest that lasted over three hours and 20 minutes.
Sorribes Tormo is no stranger to gruelling three-set battles this season. She has saved match points on multiple occasions, and been involved in several of the longest matches recorded in the women’s game in 2021.
The Spaniard’s Olympic campaign has started very brightly, too. With a career-best win over world no.1 Ash Barty, in straight sets. In which the underdog showed she can deal with the brutal high temperatures at the Tokyo venue as well as anyone.
Sara followed that big win up with another 2-0 win this morning. Next up is recent French Open runner-up, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Having finally reached a Grand Slam final, age 30, the Russian is now in my opinion being priced up a little short. Granted, the world no.18 has blasted through the early rounds here in Japan, 6-0, 6-1, and then 6-1, 6-1. But with all due respect to her opponents so far, the on-the-up Sorribes Tormo will be a much, much tougher proposition. They meet in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Odds of 66/1 appeal to me in the Outright betting. Long-time Ones to Watch readers may remember that 2016 Olympic champion Monica Puig was a 250/1 (!) ‘one that got away’ for this column. We’d backed the Puerto Rican throughout the summer at various other tournaments, only to miss the chance to pull the trigger when the Olympic curveball came along…
Tennis at the Olympic Games is no stranger to shocks, then, and I don’t want to miss the 66/1 available for Sorribes Tormo here. I also like the underdog prices to beat Pavlyuchenkova in the Match Winner betting.
Form horse at 10/1…
And to keep the racing analogy going, a form horse to back at around 10/1 – 8/1 has to be French Open winner, Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech has won 22 of her last 23 matches – only beaten by world no.1 Barty. Barbora is in remarkable form, high on confidence, and winning is a habit.
Sorribes Tormo and Krejcikova are both in the top half of the women’s Olympic tennis draw, as such avoiding the favourite & Japan’s flag-bearer Naomi Osaka, until the final. If both win their next match, they would meet in the quarter finals…
Ones to Watch
Tokyo 2020 – Women’s Olympic Tennis Event
Outright Winner – Each Way:
Each Way terms: 1/2 odds 1-2 places.
Match Winner:
Play starts 3am (UK time) – bookies will take down their Outright Winner markets during play.
I’ll be back in the week with more from Tokyo, as well as the ATP Tour.
P.S
Catch-up on today’s other advice, for ATP Atlanta, here.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson