Tennis Betting Advice - June 2022
A grand day out - and a 100/1 summer selection...
Friday 17th June 2022
A grand day out…
I went to the tennis in Birmingham yesterday. And what a grand day out it was…
Starting the day by missing my first train meant there was time for a coffee and a bacon roll at the station. Every cloud…
Talking of clouds, there were barely any to be seen! In fact, it was so hot on Centre Court at the Edgbaston Priory Club that by the end of the first match of the day, there was a hot-weather-warning announcement broadcast over the speakers. I saw one elderly lady escorted away under an umbrella. She was able to walk the steps, so I trust all was okay.
Head, nose and neck suitably creamed, I settled in to watch the tennis. Turns out I got lucky and picked a good day for entertainment at the WTA Birmingham Rothesay Classic…
All four matches went the distance to three sets. Camila Giorgi’s 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Lauren Davis was a decent attraction to get things started. Followed by the match of the day, where the level noticeably increased, with Dayana Yastremska overturning the odds, and also coming from a set down, to beat top seed Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. More on Yastremska in a moment.
Ostapenko was her usual entertaining self – sarcastic smiles and a few too many line-call grumbles didn’t help the Latvian’s cause with the Birmingham crowd. I like an underdog, so was actually clapping for Jelena after some points, while most of the crowd were saving their affections for the young Ukrainian. Both players were absolutely thundering the ball across the net. There were audible gasps from the stands, myself included. Great stuff.
Lunchtime came and went, the sun steered its way to my row of seats in the South Stand, and my earlier comments about having a great spot in the shade were soon undone. The hat came out, and I had a beer in a reusable plastic cup. Quickly followed by a large swig from my water bottle, handily topped up from the ‘drinking water station’ next to the bar.
The three-set battles continued long into the afternoon and early evening, right up until fading light stopped play with Magdalena Frech 4-2 up in the final set against the pre-match favourite, Beatriz Haddad Maia. Before that, Shuai Zhang had fought back from a break down in the decider to beat the enjoyable-to-watch Elena Gabriela Ruse, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Ruse’s downfall can be largely attributed to her 17 double faults. The 24-year-old Romanian was actually laughing about those double faults at one stage, and happily engaging the crowd after finally nailing a clean first serve. You could argue that she needs to work on her concentration, but for me, sat there with an ice cream, it was great to see a plyer with a smile on her face, enjoying the occasion rather than being crippled by the stress of being required to deliver a pro-level performance in front of a paying crowd.
Later on, Pimm’s. And a jaunt over to watch some doubles on Court 1 – a location very conveniently overlooked by the balcony bar. Ostapenko was in action again there, and this time, Jelena was smiling for all the right reasons. I also caught a glimpse of some wheelchair tennis in practise a couple of courts down, and I’ve got to say the upper-body athleticism on show was impressive, to say the least.
The day finished with a pint by the canal, and a sweaty train ride home from New Street.
We will win again…
All in all, yesterday was a great day out. And one that I needed. If you follow my bets, then you’ll know that it’s been a tough run for Ones to Watch recently. The strong and consistent reminder is always that this is a long-term game. The losing streaks can be long, the winners often few and far between… but at massive, making-it-all-worth-it odds when they do.
Trust me, I know how hard it can be sometimes to be philosophical about all that, and shrug off a series of losses. Nobody likes being hit in the pocket. I feel it, too. But I also remember the punch-the-sky feeling when 100/1 Taylor Fritz blitzed it for us at Indian Wells in March. Hang in there. There’s lots to look forward to this summer. And the next big winner is only ever just around the corner…
Yesterday was a no-bet day for me. And all the better for it. The night before, I toyed with a couple potential bets to run alongside my day out in Birmingham. But I decided to just get back to basics, and follow my own advice: Enjoy the Tennis. I’m glad I did. I loved every second of it. And was able to take in the action, watch the players, and simply let it all play out in front of me, without fretting over the scoreboard.
Lessons learned…
Of course, I can’t fully turn off my bet radar. The reason I booked those tickets in the first place was for research purposes. Pre-Wimbledon, post-lockdowns, I wanted to get back out there and see some top players hitting balls in competition. To get close enough to the action to hear how the ball comes off the strings, how the players look when you’re really able to study them, way more than when watching at home on a TV screen. You can’t beat the real thing. And of all the players I saw yesterday, one impressed me the most by far…
That player was Dayana Yastremska. I’ve been following the 22-year-old Ukrainian for several years now. Long-time Ones to Watch readers will remember that circa 2020, pre-COVID, I had Dayana neck-and-neck (if not ahead) of Sofia Kenin as a potential new Grand Slam winner in the women’s game.
Kenin went on to win the Australian Open for us at 50/1 that year, but has fallen away badly since then. While we wait to see if the American can mount a comeback, Yastremka’s return from injury and controversy is something we’ve discussed a few times over the last twelve months or so. And right now, and having watched her up close yesterday, I reckon this highly competitive and driven youngster is ready to start challenging for the bigtime again…
As reported by Tennis.com, yesterday’s win over Ostapenko takes Yastremska to played three, won three against Top 20 players this season:
100/1 summer selection…
Yastremska, who has won three WTA titles so far, first featured in our annual pre-season, Ones to Watch Report at the start of 2019 (a year before Kenin, who is a year older). I then made a point of flagging up Dayana again in our 2021 report.
In 2019, I backed the Ukrainian during Wimbledon, where she reached the second week, falling in the Last 16 – one match away from the quarter finals. Fast-forward to today, and this week’s run at WTA Birmingham marks her first quarter final appearance at a grass court event.
Since last summer, we’ve been tracking Yastremska’s comeback on the tour, after she was fully cleared of any wrongdoing following a lengthy doping investigation. I mentioned her return to business last July, and then again in August.
It’s been a long road back, but she is still so young. And as I witnessed first-hand yesterday, the 22-year-old Ukrainian may be slight of frame – but when it comes to striking tennis balls, she possesses some awe-inspiring power.
With shot-making as lethal as hers, combined with her mental strength – Dayana looks like she believes she can beat the best, and be the best.
With all of the above in mind, Yastremska is going in the book today as a 100/1 early-bird Ones to Watch pick for this summer’s two upcoming Grand Slams, Wimbledon and the US Open.
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Ones to Watch picks:
Outright Winner – Each Way (1/2 odds 1-2 places):
Wimbledon 2022 – Women’s
US Open 2022 – Women’s
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I’ll be back next week, as we continue our preparations for Wimbledon.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson