There is a lot of tennis scheduled for Wednesday, although the focus is at the WTA tournament being played in Doha.
All eight Third Round matches are going to be played in Doha with the Quarter Finals set for Thursday, Semi Finals on Friday and the tournament coming to a conclusion on Saturday with a big title to be handed out.
Big names will be in action later in the week at the ATP events being played, but they have been given Byes through to the Second Round and will begin their bids for the title from Wednesday onwards.
Ons Jabeur - 4.5 games v Sofia Kenin: Any time Ons Jabeur is going to get to play in the Middle East, there is going to be a lot of support being lent to her from the stands.
That has been the case in her two wins in Doha having reached the Quarter Final in Abu Dhabi last week and the fans have been celebrating the Ons Jabeur performances against Mccartney Kessler and Qinwen Zheng. After a disappointing 2024 on the hard courts, Ons Jabeur looks to be playing at a much higher level right now and there is a confidence about her tennis which makes her a genuine contender to win the title.
She is in the bottom half of the draw, which looks the tougher side, but Ons Jabeur will be focusing on booking her spot in the Quarter Final.
The key is to continue serving as well as she has been on the hard courts as that allows Jabeur to play some aggressive tennis on the return. This has led to six breaks of serve in both matches won this week in Doha and Ons Jabeur is the correct favourite for this Third Round match.
It is Sofia Kenin who will be standing on the other side of the net after a tough win over Alycia Parks, but the former Australian Open Champion is still struggling to find the consistency she would be expecting from herself.
The American comes into the tournament as the World Number 73, but at 26 years old Sofia Kenin may yet feel some of the tennis that took her to World Number 4 is still something she can produce.
Sofia Kenin does have a decent serve and one that can be effective on the hard courts, but the problem for her has been the return. Winning just 40% of return points played on the surface makes it challenging to string wins together and someone like Ons Jabeur is going to build the pressure if bringing anything near her best tennis onto the court.
A 6-2 head to head advantage will give Sofia Kenin some confidence, especially as she beat Ons Jabeur on a clay court just last year.
The head to head on the hard courts is also 3-1 in favour of Sofia Kenin, but the three match winning run was snapped in their most recent meeting on the surface, albeit back in March 2021. Back then it was Ons Jabeur who was significantly lower in the World Rankings compared with Sofia Kenin, but things feel different right now and the Tunisian can come through with a big win and cover on her way through to the last eight.
Amanda Anisimova v Leylah Fernandez: Two young players that still have loads of potential to fulfil meet in a big Third Round match in Doha and the layers are finding it very difficult to split Amanda Anisimova and Leylah Fernandez.
It is Leylah Fernandez who enters the tournament in Doha as the higher Ranked player, and she is the only one of the two players who have cracked the top 20.
However, that burst was largely built on reaching the US Open Final and it has been tough for Leylah Fernandez to reach that level week to week.
Last week she was beaten in Abu Dhabi in the Quarter Final and Leylah Fernandez has had steady hard court numbers over the last twelve months.
That steadiness has not quite been high enough to reach the business end of tournaments on a regular basis and Amanda Anisimova does look like a player with a higher ceiling.
Injury and issues off the court have really slowed Amanda Anisimova's rise, but she has looked much more confident and happy and that has seen her World Ranking moving back up towards her career high mark. Back to back wins over Victoria Azarenka and Paula Badosa here in Doha have to give the 23 year old real belief in her tennis.
Both previous matches between these players have ended with wins for Leylah Fernandez, but they have been competitive matches and this feels like a chance for Amanda Anisimova to turn things around.
On a hard court, Amanda Anisimova has looked the player with the slightly stronger second serve and return numbers and that could make the difference in this Third Round match. It would not be a surprise if this match needs a third set to decide the winner, but the slight edge may be with Amanda Anisimova and she can come through with an important victory.
MY PICKS: Ons Jabeur - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Amanda Anisimova @ 1.91 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Weekly Update: 1-0, + 0.75 Units (1 Unit Staked, + 75% Yield)
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