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Saturday 12 June 2021

French Open Tennis Day 14 Picks 2021- Women's Final (June 12th)

Two epic Men's Semi Final matches were played on Friday and much like the Women, they are going to need all the rest and recovery they can manage before the Final on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the last two standing after defending Champion Rafael Nadal was beaten for only the third time in his career at the French Open. To underline his greatness, Novak Djokovic has managed to do that twice against Rafael Nadal, but it mean nothing to him if he is not able to win the title on Sunday.

His opponent is in terrific form too and Stefanos Tsitsipas could be opening the door to multiple Grand Slam titles if he wins the French Open and I am looking forward to the Final (although I think I will be watching a recorded Final as it clashes with England's opening Euro 2020 Group match versus Croatia).


Before then we have the Women's Final and a new Grand Slam Champion will be crowned on Saturday.

It is a fascinating match and one that could easily go both ways, although my feelings can be read below.

Barbora Krejcikova - 1.5 games v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Two first time Grand Slam Finalists will meet at the French Open which has produced a new Slam Champion for the sixth season in succession. There won't have been too many who have filled out a pre-tournament bracket that would have ended with Barbora Krejcikova taking on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and much of the Final is going to be determined by which of the players best handles the occasion.

There will be emotions and some fatigue around the Paris Philippe-Chatrier Court on Saturday with both of these players putting in huge efforts to work their way through six matches to take their place in the French Open Final.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will benefit from the fact that she won her Semi Final in straight sets compared with the almost three and a half hours that Barbora Krejcikova needed to finally get the better of Maria Sakkari. There were times in those Semi Final matches where both of these players looked like they were running on fumes and you would imagine the last twenty-four hours is going to be mighty important for rest and recovery rather than going out and hitting tennis balls.

That is much more likely to be the case for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who was beaten in the Women's Doubles in the Quarter Final, but Barbora Krejcikova has actually battled through to the Doubles Final as well as the Singles here. No player since Mary Pierce has picked up a Singles and Doubles title at the French Open so there is a huge challenge in front of Barbora Krejcikova, although she will likely have been very pleased with the relatively comfortable Semi Final win in the Doubles.

Her Singles Semi Final was a huge battle against Maria Sakkari, but Barbora Krejcikova was the rightful winner and looked to be playing her best tennis at the end of the match rather than the beginning. That will be encouraging and through this tournament she has not spent an awful lot more time on the court than her opponent despite the very long Semi Final she was involved in.

Overall, Barbora Krejcikova has looked the stronger player than Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the French Open and while she finished her match looking pretty comfortable, the Russian had been blowing hard and looking like the energy tank was depleting at a rapid rate. That does make Pavlyuchenkova dangerous as she may be more willing to shorten the points and has heavy artillery from the ground that can give Barbora Krejcikova something to think about.

However, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has played plenty of close matches and you have to wonder how long the margins will keep going with her. This may be her last chance to win a Grand Slam which should keep her fired up, but Pavlyuchenkova will likely feel the pressure of the Krejcikova return and I do think that will turn out to be a key to the outcome of the match and which way it goes.

There will be times when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova may be able to hit through the Barbora Krejcikova defences, but I think an all out aggressive approach will be tough for the Russian to maintain and I will back the narrow favourite to come away with her first Singles Grand Slam title on Saturday afternoon.

MY PICKS: Barbora Krejcikova - 1.5 Games @ 1.95 Coral (2 Units)

French Open Update: 49-43, - 0.20 Units (184 Units Staked, - 0% Yield)

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