There was some significant tennis news last week in that officials announced that Grand Slam tournaments will continue to seed 32 players. Originally, the Grand Slam board had said it intended to revert to 16 seeds in 2019. Going back to 16 seeds in 2019 could, in theory, have made early upsets more likely. But that will have to wait at least one more year. Here’s a look at some of this week’s tennis tournaments. Check back for the latest tennis odds on gameday at MyBookie.
Wozniacki has struggled with multiple injuries this summer, retiring from her match in Cincinnati with a left knee injury but is the two-time defending champion here and has won it three times overall. Last year, she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-0, 7-5. Wozniacki was extremely effective on serve throughout the match. In the first set, she lost just three points on serve. She had six aces and never faced a break point, even when the match became competitive in its latter stages.
No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska bids to win a third Tokyo title in six years. She is the only player in the last decade to win multiple times at the event. U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka is also in the field as is American Madison Keys. Simona Halep (left hamstring), Samantha Stosur (right arm), Sloane Stephens (right foot), Daria Gavrilova (right Achilles) all withdrew due to injury.
Top Tennis Betting Picks of the Week – September 17th Edition
Who will be the 2018 #StPetersburg Open champion?
Watch the inspirational story of last year’s winner, @DzumhurDamir 🇧🇦 pic.twitter.com/PIbhGVjttT — ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) 17 de septiembre de 2018
Moselle Open
The men were completely off last week following the US Open – other than the Davis Cup semifinals. The ATP Moselle Open is held in Metz, France and played on indoor hard courts. It’s the 21st staging of this ATP World Tour 250 series event. Frenchman Arnaud Clement won the inaugural tournament in 2003, with countrymen Jerome Haehnel (2004), Gael Monfils (2009), Gilles Simon (2010, ’13), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2011-’12 and ’15) and Lucas Pouille (2016) following his success. The defending champion is relative unknown Peter Gojowczyk. The German beat seventh seed and Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-2 in 67 minutes. The German qualifier claimed seven matches in eight days to lift his first trophy, completing a stunning run to the title with 14 of 15 sets won. Gojowczyk was the first qualifier to win an ATP World Tour event in 2017. The highest-ranked player this year and the top seed is Japan’s Kei Nishikori. He’ll be the betting favorite. Pouille is also in the field.St. Petersburg Open
This ATP event is held in Russia, not Florida, and played on indoor hard courts. The St. Petersburg Open began in 1995 when Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov lifted the trophy. Marat Safin won back-to-back titles in 2000-01 and Andy Murray became the only other winner of consecutive titles in 2007-’08. The favorite should be the top seed, Austria’s Dominic Thiem. Former major champion Stan Wawrinka, who has had a lousy year due to injuries, got wild-card entry to the field. The defending champion is Damir Dzumhur and he’s back to defend and seeded No. 5. Dzumhur captured his first ATP World Tour title with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback victory over Fabio Fognini in the final. The Sarajevo native became the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title. He also became the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to break the Top 50.Toray Pan Pacific Open
This WTA event is played outdoors in Tokyo. It’s the 35th edition of the Pan Pacific Open, and part of the Premier Series on the WTA Tour. It’s held at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi. The favorite likely will be top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who is No. 2 in the world and won the Australian Open earlier this year. She was upset in the second round of the US Open 6-4, 6-2 by Lesia Tsurenko. Overall, Tsurenko struck a solid 20 winners to 38 unforced errors – seven of which were double faults – while Wozniacki managed just six winners in two sets, ultimately undone by 33 unforced errors off the ground.
Wozniacki has struggled with multiple injuries this summer, retiring from her match in Cincinnati with a left knee injury but is the two-time defending champion here and has won it three times overall. Last year, she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-0, 7-5. Wozniacki was extremely effective on serve throughout the match. In the first set, she lost just three points on serve. She had six aces and never faced a break point, even when the match became competitive in its latter stages.
No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska bids to win a third Tokyo title in six years. She is the only player in the last decade to win multiple times at the event. U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka is also in the field as is American Madison Keys. Simona Halep (left hamstring), Samantha Stosur (right arm), Sloane Stephens (right foot), Daria Gavrilova (right Achilles) all withdrew due to injury.
