For the third night in a row, our tennis expert Ace will be heading back to Austria for the WTA Linz, hunting yet another winner. Check out his full preview and betting tips for the clash between the 8th seeded Alison Riske and the fast rising Xin Yu Wang from China.
Ace will be with us reguarly throughout the summer in the lead up to the Australian Open, so be sure to check out our Tennis Tips page for updates.
WTA Linz
Wang vs Riske
Thursday November 11th, 2.00am (AEDT)
A Top 100 spot is just around the corner for Xin Yu Wang, and it will certainly be well deserved. Can she back up her impressive form and match it with American Alison Riske?
I think we have an incorrect favourite in this match up looking at the prices of both players. For mine, too much has been considered of too few performances from Riske over the last couple of months, and although she has looked solid against Mona Barthel and Alize Cornet on her way to the quarter finals, I am struggling to side with her as a favourite in this indoor hardcourt conditions. Is there a little too much recency bias? I can appreciate that Riske at her best on indoor hardcourt is an incredibly tough opponent, however I haven’t seen her produce a level close to her best over the last 12-18 months on tour, as shown by the ranking drop into the 70s. Barthel with a first serve percentage in the 40’s was a nice way to start the tournament, and Cornet’s regression at times this year has looked similar to Riske. Can she regain the form of years past?
I am happy to side with the price on Wang here on her recent form across all surfaces, but notably the indoor hardcourts. She has four wins under her belt this week, including wins over US Open winner Emma Raducanu and Kateryna Kozlova. This backs up a quarter final appearance in Courmayeur, where she lost to the eventual title winner Donna Vekic, and a W125 final in Columbus on indoor hardcourt as well. She is winning a consistently high percentage of points on her first serve (outside of her match vs Cornet where she was injured), and has the consistency and movement to be a threat to Riske.
Unless Riske finds a way to redline here, I think Wang can progress. I will back her here for 1.5 units.
