Betting-Previews.com brings you 2021 US Open betting previews and predictions for the second round of the quarter-finals matches. Here are our picks for Emma Raducanu vs Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova vs Maria Sakkari, who will clash on Wednesday, September 8.
Emma Raducanu vs Belinda Bencic
When: Wednesday, September 8 – 12:00 EDT
Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York
Weather: Sunny, 27°C
Although Emma Raducanu and Belinda Bencic are both excellent players, you have to give Bencic an edge due to her experience playing big games. Having said that, the 18-year-old had done extremely well last round, when she won against Shelby Rogers (6-2, 6-1) in front of a big crowd that wasn’t exactly on her side and that tells a lot about her confidence.
Before her win against Rogers, Raducanu eliminated Sara Sorribes Tormo (6-0, 6-1), Zhang Shuai (6-2, 6-4), Stefanie Vogele (6-2, 6-3), and Mayar Sherif (6-1, 6-4). As evident, she was a class above all her opponents so far, and it seems like she is stepping up her game with each passing round.
Obviously, she will need to find new gear to defeat the reigning Olympics gold medalist; however, it’s fair to say that Raducanu is trending in the right direction. What’s more she has faced very good opponents, and if she can record such numbers, that speaks a lot about her quality.
It goes without saying that Bencic won’t be an easy opponent. She has been playing extremely well of late; however, from what we have seen from Raducanu, she shouldn’t be priced as high as she is. We have to side with the 18-year-old to continue her run and reach her career-first Grand Slam semi-finals.
Prediction: Emma Raducanu to win – 2.30 at Sportmarket
Karolina Pliskova vs Maria Sakkari
When: Wednesday, September 8 – 19:00 EDT
Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York
Weather: Cloudy, 24°C
World no.4, Karolina Pliskova has done well to reach her career third US Open quarter-finals (2016 (F), 2017, 2018). She has made it past Caty McNally (6-3, 6-4), Amanda Anisimova (7-5. 6-7, 7-6), Ajla Tomljanovic (6-3, 6-2), and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who she defeated on Monday (7-5, 6-4) in the fourth round of play.
Maria Sakkari hasn’t disappointed either with her run to the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old took down Marta Kostyuk (6-4, 6-3), Katerina Siniakova (6-4, 6-2), Petra Kvitova (6-4, 6-3), and Bianca Andreescu, who she eliminated from R4 on Monday (6-7, 7-6, 6-3).
Pliskova and Sakkari have met twice before, both times in Rome. Their first meeting, in 2018, ended in favour of Sakkari, who won with 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, but she couldn’t emulate that success the next year, when Pliskova got her revenge with 6-4, 6-4. A lot of time has passed since those bouts, and it’s also fair to mention that the Rome Masters is played on clay, so we should take those results with a grain of salt.
While both excellent players, Sakkari and Pliskova are known for underperforming in big matches. Throughout her career, Pliskova has made it to four Grand Slam quarter-finals, two semi-finals, and two finals, yet she has never won the title.
Similarly, Sakkari has reached the semi-final in France earlier this year but fell apart against the eventual champion, Barbora Krejčíková (5-7, 6-4, 7-9).
Comparing their carrer achievements, it would be easy to favour Plickova; however, we’re leaning more towards Sakkari since she has the right style of play to rake down the Czech tennis star. It could be a close affair, but based on what we have seen so far, Sakkari is the better pick at the offered odds.
Prediction: Maria Sakkari to win – 2.23 at Sportmarket
