Belinda Bencic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will lock horns on Wednesday, July 28 in the quarter-finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s tennis tournament. They last met in February 2020, when Pavlyuchenkova won 2-1, albeit that was her first head-to-head victory against the Swiss since 2015 – can she make it two in a row?
Belinda Bencic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
When: Wednesday, July 28 – 13:10 JST
Where: Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo, Japan
Weather: Clear, 32°C
The odds on Belinda Bencic beating Barbora Krejcikova were as long as 3.00 at some online sportsbooks yesterday. However, the Swiss international managed to upset the odds and defeated the 2021 French Open champion after pulling off a massive comeback after dropping the first set 1-6.
Bencic is once again billed as the underdog for her next 2020 Tokyo Olympics fixture. She’s taking on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a Russian who’s priced at 1.60 to win. The big question is can Bencic shock the oddsmakers one more time?
Bencic Leads 5-2 in Head-to-Head Duels with Pavlyuchenkova
Belinda Bencic met with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova seven times in her career and won five meetings. Five of the seven duels were played on hard courts, which is the same surface used at the Olympics tennis tournament.
Of those five hard-court matches, Bencic won three, each by 2-1 in sets. Their most recent game, however, saw the Russian player grabbing a win. It happened in February 2020, when the two met at the WTA Dubai. The score was 2-1 in favor of Pavlyuchenkova, who produced a reverse-sweep with 6-1, 6-1 after she dropped the first set 1-6.
If we look at Bencic’s recent outings, she has had mixed success. In 2021, she’s won 10 matches on hard courts but lost six. However, she’s been nothing short of impressive at the Olympics.
The world’s no.12 female tennis player got to the quarter-final after winning against some pretty tough opponents, including Jessica Pegula (#27), Misaki Doi (#93), and Barbora Krejcikova (#11).
She beat Pegula and Doi in straight sets but had to work a bit harder against Krejcikova, who won the first set of the day, yet struggled to keep up with the Swiss, who closed out the deal with 6-2, 6-3.
Bencic’s next opponent has had a much easier road to the quarter-final.
No Lost Sets at the 2020 Olympics for Pavlyuchenkova
Pavlyuchenkova enters the 2020 Tokyo Olympics quarter-finals following three straight-set victories. Sure, it’s an impressive feat, but her opponents didn’t do much in those matches.
On her path to the final-eight in Tokyo, Pavlyuchenkova won against Sara Errani (#112), Anna-Lena Friedsam (#129), and Sara Sorribes Tormo (#47).
However, when it comes to playing against players from near the top of the WTA List, she hasn’t been too successful – at least not recently. Since the start of the year, Pavlyuchenkova has played against only three players who are ranked higher than Bencic.
Those three include Garbine Muguruza (#9), Barbora Krejcikova (#11), and Aryna Sabalenka (#3). Pavlyuchenkova lost to Muguruza 0-2 in Melbourne in February. She also failed to defeat Krejcikova (1-2) in the final of the 2021 French Open.
Pavlyuchenkova faced Sabalenka twice in 2021, and the two split the clashes with one win apiece.
Against Sabalenka, Pavlyuchenkova played two matches in 2021. She lost the first one but managed a revenge win in France with 2-1.
Belinda Bencic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Betting Picks
Belinda Bencic is famous for never giving up. In her last outing, against favored Krejcikova, the Swiss lost the first set 6-1. At that point, everyone seemed to think she’s finished, but the Swiss player managed to turn the match in her favor.
The comeback against the reigning French Open champions has undoubtedly given her a major morale boost ahead of this clash, and she must be feeling both confident and motivated to get to the semifinal. When she’s in such a mood, Bencic can beat pretty much everyone, including Pavlyuchenkova.
Pick: Belinda Bencic – 2.45 Unibet, 2.41 Pinnacle
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