Barbora Krejcikova and Belinda Bencic will clash on Tuesday, July 26, in the 1/8 finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tournament. It will mark their first meeting in their careers, with Krejcikova heavily favored to build on her success in France and take one step closer to Olympic gold medal.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Belinda Bencic
When: Tuesday, July 26 – 13:00 JST
Where: Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo, Japan
Weather: Rain, 29°C
Barbora Krejcikova entered the Olympics as the #11 player in the WTA Rankings. Her next opponent, Belinda Bencic, is just one spot below, which is a fact that promises an entertaining duel at the Ariake Tennis Park.
The two will cross swords in the 1/8-finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament. Krejcikova got here after beating Leylah Annie Fernandez (#72) in Round 2. She played only 29 minutes in Round 1 because her opponent Zarina Diyas retired due to an injury when the score was 5-2 in Krejcikova’s favor.
Bencic’s road to the 1/8-final of the Olympics had more challenging obstacles. In her first match of the tournament, Bencic played against Jessica Pegula (#27), while in the second round, her opponent was Misaki Doi. In both matches, Bencic won 2-0. Can she continue this trend? Let’s see!
Oddsmakers Favor Barbora Krejcikova to Get to the 1/4-Final
It’s been a wonderful year for Barbora Krejcikova so far. First, she made it to the finals in Dubai, knocking out Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Potova, and Jil Teichman along the way.
Then, she went to France to participate in the 2021 French Open, where she won her first singles Grand Slam title. Previously, she won six other Grand Slams but in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
She’s also been pretty impressive on the hard courts, winning most of her 2021 matches. In fact, this year, she’s lost only six times on this surface while winning 19. Two of those wins happened in Tokyo.
Prior to her trip to Japan, Krejcikova also won WTA Livesport Prague Open as the second-seeded player behind Petra Kvitova (world no.10). The two haven’t met at the tournament, with Kvitova suffering an early elimination (R1), essentially giving Krejcikova a free pass to the title, as she hadn’t faced a single player inside the top-50.
For all these reasons, it’s not surprising that the Czech is favored to beat Bencic. What’s surprising is that the odds on the Czech player are as short as 1.40. Knowing that Bencic is just one spot behind Krejcikova in the WTA Rankings, it’s hard to agree with the oddsmakers.
Can Belinda Bencic Upset the Odds?
The answer to this question is: yes! Belinda Bencic remains one of the world’s best female tennis players, even though she’s still without big trophies in her cupboard. Unlike Krejcikova, who’s won seven Grand Slams, the furthest Bencic got at a major tournament is the semi-final stage.
Still, she does have a good record against the world’s best players on the WTA Rankings. Furthermore, she seems to love playing on the hard courts, where her win-loss ratio is 111-86.
Bencic enters this match with a 7-3 record in her last 10 outings, which includes three losses against Liudmila Samsonova (1-2), Viktorija Golubic (0-2), and Kaja Juvan (0-2), albeit all three happened on grass courts, in Berlin, Eastbourne, and Wimbledon respectively.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Belinda Bencic Betting Picks
Krejcikova’s been in a much better form than Bencic this year. However, the Czech has also played more matches than her opponent, especially over the last couple of weeks.
While Krejcikova showed better form throughout the year, Bencic impressed us more in Japan. We’re giving the Swiss a decent chance to upset Krejcikova, and the offered betting odds make it hard to pass on her.
Prediction: Belinda Bencic – 3.00 at Bet365, Unibet
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