Bianca Andreescu and Karolina Muchova will clash on Wednesday, August 18, in the 1/16 finals of WTA Cincinnati 2021 (also known as the 2021 Western & Southern Open). It will mark the first meeting of their careers and a match both will be eager to win.
Bianca Andreescu vs Karolina Muchova
When: Wednesday, August 18 – 10:00 EDT
Where: Lindner Family Tennis Center in Ohio, US
Weather: Partly cloudy, 23°C
Today in Cincinnati, Bianca Andreescu and Karolina Muchova meet for the first time ever! Although Andreescu is the #8 in the WTA Rankings, oddsmakers think her opponent should be considered as the favourite to walk away with a W.
So, why is that the case? The main reason is that the Canadian player spent the entire 2020 off the court, recovering from an injury. Andreescu made her return this year but hasn’t achieved much so far. Is the WTA Cincinnati going to be the tournament in which she gets back on the radar of tennis fans? Let’s see!
Are We Going to Witness a Bianca Andreescu Resurgence?
Currently ranked #8, Bianca Andreescu is the highest-ranked Canadian WTA player in history. She used to be even closer to the top a few years ago, reaching her career-high of #4 in October 2019.
However, only a few months later, she suffered a knee injury that put her out of court for months. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic came, and the entire tennis world was put on hold for a few months.
Andreescu made her comeback in 2021 but then caught the coronavirus in April, for which she had to miss the WTA Madrid. After several weeks of quarantine and lightweight, she entered the French Open, where she suffered an early elimination. Andreescu also failed to achieve much at the 2021 Wimbledon, as well as at the WTA Montreal.
Andreescu’s most recent match was the loss to Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Canadian Open. The match in Montreal was played on Thursday, meaning that she’s had almost an entire week to prepare for the clash with Muchova.
Odds Favor the Not-So-Impressive Karolina Muchova
Karolina Muchova seems like she never manages to win her matches efficiently, regardless of who her opponent might be. In her previous match, she beat Johanna Konta, who was a 2.50 pre-event underdog. Even though Muchova was expected to win easily, it took her 2:29 hours to secure a narrow 2-1 victory.
What’s even worse is that her opponent was struggling with fitness. In fact, that was Konta’s only fourth match since contracting COVID-19, which caused her to miss out on the Wimbledon action and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
That match happened yesterday, meaning that Muchova hasn’t had a lot of time to recover and prepare for the clash with Andreescu. Even if she were 100% fit, we still wouldn’t consider her a big favourite.
The reason is that Muchova hasn’t done much this year, nor in 2020. In fact, her most recent title happened in September 2019, when she won the WTA Seoul.
Bianca Andreescu vs Karolina Muchova Betting Pick
Andreescu is one of the rising stars in the world of tennis. At the age of only 20, she already has plenty of accolades to show for, including one Grand Slam title. In 2019, she won the US Open; a tournament played on the hard courts – the same as WTA Cincinnati.
Andreescu’s win rate on hard courts is at 77.3%, while her record on the year shows 10-4. There is not a lot that would suggest she can’t beat Munchova and add her 11th hard court victory today!
Prediction: Bianca Andreescu – 2.17 at SBO
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