The men’s and women’s tennis tournaments in Washington, USA are underway and there are a few plays on early Tuesday morning (AEST) that have caught our tennis experts’ eye. Find out who Ace is backing below and good luck to everyone following along!
WTA Washington
Karolina Pliskova vs Wang Yafan
Time: Tuesday July 30 - Approx 02:30am AEST
Some might call me a little crazy here, but I am certainly a fan of the current price for Wang Yafan. Karolina Pliskova has been struggling a bit with some injury niggles in recent months, and I thought she may have turned a corner in the grass season, before struggling to finish off a fatigued Diana Shnaider in the first round of Wimbledon. She does look as though she may has lost half a step, and that can be the difference at the highest level.
This time last year, Wang was playing in the North American ITF tournaments, and going on a bit of a tear. She needed to, having not played tennis from mid May 2022 to the end of March 2023, her ranking fell to 557th in the world. Impressively, Wang started the year ranked 101 in the world, and started the year well with a 3rd round loss at the Australian Open (lost in final set tiebreak to eventual finalist Qinwen Zheng).
Wang has the right mix of movement and shot selection, and ability to play with some margin in a counterpunching nature against Pliskova. The big question mark with Pliskova is the movement and I feel that Wang has the tools to challenge here. I will split staking across the moneyline and the game handicap.
Also Backing: Wang to defeat Pliskova (0.75 units at $3.70 at Ladbrokes)
Wang +4.5 games vs Pliskova
$1.85 (1.5 Units)
ATP Washington
James Duckworth vs Reilly Opelka
Time: Tuesday July 30, Approx 09:30am AEDT
I will stick to just a play on the game handicap here, as I am pretty comfortable with the 2.5 game head start for James Duckworth against American Reilly Opelka, who is still early in his return to the tour.
Duckworth knows that clay is not his strongest surface, and that is why he didn’t play any grass tournaments outside of the Roland Garros Qualifying, having just missed the main draw cutoff. He put together a solid grass court season, which finished with a 6-7 6-7 6-7 loss to Alex De Minaur at Wimbledon, which was a pretty gutsy performance given De Minaur’s form as a Top 10 player. Duckworth has shown his ability on the hardcourt across the course of his career, and has put in some respectable performances against big strikers of the ball.
I feel as though the Australian with a 2.5 game handicap here is the play that stands out above others. Opelka hasn’t been dominant in any match in his return, and I like Duckworth’s ability to at the very least keep things close here.
James Duckworth +2.5 games vs Reilly Opelka
$1.85 (1.25 Units)
