Manic Monday is always one of the most fun days of Tennis on the Tour and this year was no different as the Wimbledon Fourth Round produced some high quality matches for the fans that were lucky enough to attend the grounds.
Upsets were seen, but those came in the women's draw for the most part and the top three contenders in the men's draw have all made the final eight. At this point the women's draw continues to look wide open with each of the eight players involved likely going to have a lot of belief that they are going to be able to win this Grand Slam, whereas it would be a huge surprise if one of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal are unable to win the title next Sunday.
The men will now play on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in the remaining days at Wimbledon, while the women take centre stage on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Even the site of poorer weather potentially arriving in London won't prevent the tennis being played with the roofs available at Wimbledon, although it is something to consider with some players better suited to playing indoor tennis than others.
The Tennis Picks did produce a profitable return on Monday, but I do feel I should have done better than I did. It does keep the Wimbledon tournament moving in a positive direction, but I am hoping for a strong end to conclude the third Grand Slam of the 2019 season.
Below you can read my Quarter Final Tennis Picks from the women's tournament which are all played on Tuesday and I have also updated the totals from Wimbledon too.
Serena Williams - 4.5 games v Alison Riske: In the last few years Alison Riske has really enjoyed playing on the grass courts and playing at Wimbledon has generally been where she has enjoyed her tennis the most at the Grand Slam level. Before this week Alison Riske had only reached one Fourth Round at the US Open, but the American has played in the Third Round at Wimbledon on three previous occasions before this year.
A stunning win over World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty saw Riske earn her spot in the Quarter Final on Monday and you could see the emotion and excitement she was feeling. For the third time in the tournament at Wimbledon Alison Riske has had to come from behind to win her match and her run through the draw has been a difficult one which will also give her plenty of confidence to take into this match.
Prior to the tournament starting at Wimbledon, Riske also won the title in Surbiton and Hertogenbosch and I do think this is a surface on which she feels very comfortable. The battling win over Barty will only increase her belief, although facing Serena Williams on Centre Court is a different sort of challenge than any Riske has faced so far.
Serena Williams is not playing at her very best, but she has barely been threatened in this tournament and the former World Number 1 looks to be peaking heading into the weekend. There have looked to be some limitations with her movement and the consistency is not where it can be when Serena Williams is playing her best, but her numbers have been strong and considerably stronger than what Riske has been able to produce so far in the event.
The serve has been a very important weapon for Serena Williams and it is something that should be able to produce the difference between these two players. While Riske has been efficient at taking her break points when they have come her way compared to how her opponent's have reacted, I am not sure she will have the same amount of opportunities against Williams in the form displayed through the first four Rounds.
Alison Riske will believe her aggressive tennis can help protect her own serve as she will look to put Williams under pressure by finishing points up at the net. The points won behind the serve have been decent from Riske and it does back up how she has been playing in the last month, but she has been saving plenty of break points too and it is going to be tough to do that if Williams is running through her service games without the pressure Riske will have to deal with.
The Williams return comes with plenty of power so Riske will have to be wary of offering up too many second serves. Ultimately I do think she has played a lot of tennis so far at Wimbledon and I think it is very difficult to ask Riske to continue winning tight matches as she has been doing.
I expect Serena Williams to dominate the break points in this one and I am not sure Alison Riske can keep winning the big points as she has been. It has been a fabulous run that Riske has put together, but I think Williams has too much for her even at this stage of her career and she can win this one and cover the handicap number.
Simona Halep - 5.5 games v Shuai Zhang: There is no doubt it was going to be a tough match emotionally for Simona Halep on Monday as she took on teenage sensation Coco Gauff in the Fourth Round at Wimbledon. All of the expectation and pressure was on the shoulders of the former World Number 1, but Simona Halep handled the occasion as well as she could and came through with a comfortable win.
In the Quarter Final you would think the match is a favourable one for Halep against Shuai Zhang, a player that had little grass court pedigree before her run at Wimbledon over the last week. Her numbers in the build up to Wimbledon had been pretty average and Zhang had suffered comfortable losses to Jennifer Brady, Shelby Rogers and Alize Cornet which makes this run at Wimbledon all the more improbable.
The losses to Rogers and Cornet saw Zhang win just four games in each match, but she has to be respected for her performances in reaching the Quarter Final. It does have to be said that the numbers have been declining in each passing Round to the point where Zhang had to dig in deep to beat Dayana Yastremska in the Fourth Round on Monday.
Shuai Zhang will know she has to serve better than she has in the past two Rounds if she is going to beat Simona Halep. The return has been a very productive weapon for the Chinese player and it has also been the biggest surprise about her performances considering her past history on that side of her tennis on the grass courts.
I do think Zhang will have some successes against Simona Halep in this match with the way she has been returning. The Halep serve can be vulnerable to aggressive tennis on the grass courts, but her own returning can match what Zhang is able to produce and Halep has shown more consistency on this surface in recent years.
The head to head is a slight concern when you think Shuai Zhang has beaten Simona Halep fairly comfortably in their last two matches. Both were played in 2016 though and I do think the slightly slower conditions at Wimbledon in 2019 will aid Halep in earning a measure of revenge against this opponent with a strong looking win on the day.
Barbora Strycova + 3.5 games v Johanna Konta: Home hopes are increasing in each passing Round at Wimbledon as Johanna Konta backs up a strong showing at the French Open with another positive run in SW19. The British Number 1 reached the Semi Final in Paris and she is a former Semi Finalist at Wimbledon while favoured to reach that Round again on Tuesday afternoon.
While Andy Murray is still out of action as a Singles player, Konta is the player that the headline makers are looking for to make an impact for British tennis at the home Grand Slam. Her come from behind wins over Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova will have given Konta a huge boost in confidence, although there is some pressure on this match with the greater expectation fans will have that she can win the Quarter Final.
It is far from an easy match for Johanna Konta as she faces Barbora Strycova who has proven to be a very competent grass court player through her career. This is also not the first rodeo for Strycova having reached the Wimbledon Quarter Final in 2014 and she has to remember her experiences to try and aid her in a very big match.
In 2014 it was Petra Kvitova who got the better of Strycova, but the latter has been serving well enough on the grass courts to believe she can be competitive. The return can be an issue and now she is facing a very strong server in Konta, but Strycova will be looking to move the British player around and try and test out an ankle that needed some treatment on Monday.
Returning might have been an issue for Strycova on the grass courts, but she has been very strong on that side of her game in her four wins here. Barbora Strycova has created a lot more break points than her opponents and I do have to say that Konta is going to need to be much improved in her own returning if she is going to go on and win this tournament.
I am expecting a close match between these two players and I do think Johanna Konta just about deserves to be the favourite. While Strycova has won at least 44% of return points played in each of her four matches, Konta has yet to win more than 40%.
The Konta serve is the superior one that the two players possess and is part of the reason she is the favourite. However I would be disappointed if Barbora Strycova went away quietly in this match considering how well she can look after her own serve and I will back her with the start in the handicap market.
Elina Svitolina-Karolina Muchova over 21.5 games: This is perhaps not the Quarter Final many would have predicted at the start of Wimbledon and that should mean both Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova will understand the kind of opportunity they have in front of them.
The one element we can't really factor into the match is how much Muchova left on the court on Monday having needed to go over three hours to beat Karolina Pliskova deep into the third set. It would have been a match that has taken a toll both physically and mentally for Muchova having beaten her compatriot in the manner she did, and I have some concerns that there won't be a lot left in the tank for this one.
However we have seen plenty of nerves from Elina Svitolina when she gets to this stage of a Grand Slam. She may have won the WTA Championships last October, but Svitolina has yet to make the Semi Final of a Grand Slam tournament and that is going to be playing on her mind in this one too.
The Ukrainian did not have a very productive grass court season before her four wins in Wimbledon and the last thirteen months on the surface have been difficult for her. Karolina Muchova doesn't have a lot to write home about when it comes to her previous successes on the grass courts either, but she has been serving very effectively at Wimbledon and that will give her a chance to upset the higher Ranked player.
It is an interesting match up on paper as Muchova has the edge on the serve, but Svitolna looks the more effective returner. With both strengths and weaknesses going up against each other, I do think this is a match that will have a few twists and turns in it, although it should be Quarter Final in which Svitolina eventually prevails barring losing her way mentally.
I have no doubt that Karolina Muchova is going to have to dig very deep in this one, but she can serve well enough to remain competitive and can help in seeing this match surpass the total games line. I am hoping the Czech player has had enough time to recover physically from the exertions of Monday, and if she can this is a match that may need a third set to decide the outcome.
MY PICKS: Serena Williams - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Simona Halep - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 William Hill (2 Units)
Barbora Strycova + 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Elina Svitolina-Karolina Muchova Over 21.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Wimbledon Update: 47-36, + 15.26 Units (166 Units Staked, + 9.19% Yield)
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