Day 12 of the French Open is reserved for the Women's Semi Finals and both are going to be played back to back on the main show court in Paris.
It should be a decent day after four surprising names have made their way into the Semi Final and all four should be full of belief that they can pick up the title on Saturday.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 2.5 games v Tamara Zidansek: Both of these players spent well over two hours on the court on Tuesday and both were rewarded with a first ever Grand Slam Semi Final.
It has been a long time coming for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who has lost multiple Grand Slam Quarter Finals through her long career as she has perhaps failed to reach the kind of level some had predicted for her. That isn't to say it has been a bad career, but a peak World Ranking of Number 13 and failure to reach a Grand Slam Semi Final before this tournament in Paris is perhaps not as successful as Pavlyuchenkova looked like she could be when dominating the junior world.
Breaking through the Quarter Final barrier in a long match against friend and Doubles partner Elena Rybakina may give Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova a 'nothing to lose' attitude for the remainder of the French Open, but there is some pressure on her. The Russian will go into this Semi Final as a considerable favourite which is perhaps not a surprise when you think of how far out of left field this run has been for Tamara Zidansek.
The Slovenian has played in eight Grand Slam tournament main draws before the French Open and she had won a total of three matches, but Zidansek has won five in a row in Paris and battled through a tough Quarter Final to take her place in the final four. She has played the big points really well and Tamara Zidansek has won a number of matches as the underdog which will give her a lot of confidence going into this match.
Tamara Zidansek certainly has the edge when it comes to the movement around the court and that can be very important on a clay court, but she will have to serve well to keep Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at bay.
In this tournament, it is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who has impressed more consistently with her return and she has broken at least five times in each of her five wins. Most impressively, the Russian has created at least ten break points in each of her last four matches and that kind of pressure will be tough for Tamara Zidansek to deal with, especially as she has given up more break points than she has created in each of her last four wins.
Both players have battled hard in the tournament, but you would think there will be a few more cheaper points coming from the Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova racquet and that can be a key in a match that is going to see plenty of nerves from both sides of the court. A real opportunity to not only reach a Grand Slam Final, but also perhaps win a Major tournament will be heavy on the minds and I think Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has more to prove in that regard as she could see this as a last chance to play in a showcase match in her career.
However, I think the experience has to help her and I think Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been playing the superior return tennis in the French Open which is going to be key to the outcome of the first Semi Final on Thursday. There will be swings in momentum, but I think Pavlyuchenkova will have a little too much for a solid Tamara Zidansek who has seen her serve attacked regularly and perhaps just had the fine margins on her side so far in Paris.
Barbora Krejcikova + 3.5 games v Maria Sakkari: All four Women's Quarter Finals were won by the underdog and that means the defending Champion Iga Swiatek has been beaten.
Once again a new Grand Slam Champion is going to be announced on Saturday as the top of the Women's game continues to be tightly contested with many players capable of putting seven wins together to win a Major tournament. The winner of this Semi Final is likely going to be the favourite to win the title and both Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari will be feeling very good about their tennis after their wins on Day 11.
Unlike the other two Semi Finalists, Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari had to play their Semi Final on Wednesday rather than Tuesday, but I don't think that is going to be a major factor. Fitness should not be an issue that hurts either player and I do think there is every chance that the underdog could win this one outright.
Maria Sakkari will have grabbed the headlines for her strong win over Iga Swiatek, although you do have to wonder how much an injury was a factor for the defending Champion. It has continued what has been a strong tournament for Greek tennis, while Sakkari has been playing at a really good level at the French Open which makes her dangerous.
The serve has been a key factor for Sakkari through the five wins she has had in Paris, but that has only helped her return game with more break points created than her opponent in each Round of the tournament. It is encouraging tennis from a player who needed a break after a relatively low-key clay court season and makes the run to the Semi Final even more impressive.
It will be difficult to match her level from the win over Iga Swiatek though and Maria Sakkari will be well aware of how improved Barbora Krejcikova is as a Singles player. The clay court season has been a strong one for the Czech player that flies under the radar somewhat behind the likes of Karolina Pliskova, Karolina Muchova and Petra Kvitova as the top names from that nation, but Barbora Krejcikova showed a strong mentality to beat Coco Gauff in the Quarter Final in the manner she did.
There has been a pretty good consistency with the serve, but Barbora Krejcikova knows there may be more to come from that shot if she is going to surprisingly go on and win the French Open. However, she has been really effective on the return and much of this match is going to come down to which of these players is able to take control of rallies behind heavy groundstrokes.
The 2-0 head to head in favour of Barbora Krejcikova includes a solid win over Maria Sakkari on the Dubai hard courts earlier this year, a match in which she dominated the break points and was ultimately a comfortable winner. That will help, but both players will need to get on top of their nerves knowing a huge opportunity is in front of them in the same manner the two players in the first Semi Final are going to have to manage.
Both players have shown enough on the clay courts to believe they can win, but this handicap looks a touch too big in favour of the underdog considering how well Barbora Krejcikova has played here in Paris and on the clay in general over the last couple of years. She can certainly match Maria Sakkari who will have to get over the emotions of a big upset win against the defending Champion and has to deal with the expectations that come after a win of that magnitude.
It certainly feels like a handicap will be difficult to overcome even if Maria Sakkari wins the match as I expect Barbora Krejcikova to push her all the way. The underdog is certainly capable of winning this Semi Final at her best too and the games are tempting enough to get behind.
MY PICKS: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Barbora Krejcikova + 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Coral (2 Units)
French Open Update: 47-41, + 0.70 Units (176 Units Staked, + 0% Yield)
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