The Citi Open tennis tournament gets into the swing of things with first-round play in a five-round tournament in Washington, D.C. That’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks.
Monday presented a number of close matches with four of the five contests going the full five sets. The only matchup that ended in straight sets was Saisai Zheng’s win over Maria Mateas. She won 7-5 and 6-1. From the matches that went the distances, we saw Nao Hibino top Veronica Cepede in three sets, Alize Cornet needed the full allotment to beat Jennifer Brady, Ana Bogdan ousted Asia Muhammed and Nicol Gibbs beat Carol Zhao.
Temperatures are expected to be hot during the week, so conditioning could become a factor in high-humidity conditions. The fitter players will be more likely to win in three sets. The bigger hitters with less footspeed will need to dictate matches early and win in straight sets. It’s not an entirely normal set of tennis circumstances, and bettors need to keep that in mind. Here are our tennis picks for Tuesday:
Lauren Davis vs. Shelby Rogers
In this match, Rogers is the far bigger hitter. She made her way to the French Open quarterfinals by managing to beat Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion who also made the French Open semifinalists a few years ago. Rogers also beat Irina-Camelia Begu – who had been having a strong clay season – to get to the quarterfinals before eventual champion Garbine Muguruza stopped her. Rogers should be able to control points and get on top of this match. If she hits the ball as cleanly as she’s capable of doing, Davis does not have strong enough groundstrokes to throw her off balance. Rogers should be able to win this in straights, but if it goes three, Davis becomes a much bigger favorite in the match. Stick with Rogers in two, but be careful if you think that Davis can extend her to a third set. Take Rogers with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Rogers in straight sets
Samantha Crawford vs. Kristina Mladenovic
This is a matchup of a free-swinging youngster, Crawford, against a crafty and tactical veteran, Mladenovic. Crawford takes huge cuts, especially on the forehand side. She wants to bludgeon the ball every chance she gets. She can be very fun to watch, and being an American, she will have a very supportive crowd on her side. However, this opponent – in hot weather conditions which put a premium on fitness – will be very tough. Mladenovic is skilled at playing defense from the back of the court. She is not an overpowering player, but she does move opponents around the court. She loves to use the drop shot, which could run Crawford ragged and pay dividends as the match goes along. Crawford might win the first set, but she will need to finish off Mladenovic in straights, and as long as the Frenchwoman can then win the second set to create a prolonged match, she can probably take away Crawford’s legs in the third and prevail. Go with Mladenovic here for your tennis picks.
Pick: Mladenovic in three sets
Monica Puig vs. Oceane Dodin
This is a match which should go to Puig, the Puerto Rican. Dodin is not that imposing a player, and although Puig did not enjoy as good a Wimbledon as she had hoped, she’s still hit the ball very cleanly for most of this season and has rebounded from a very rough 2015. Puig should be able to regroup for the hardcourt season and regain the momentum she had before Wimbledon. Remember that she has performed fairly well on the hard courts, winning 11 of 17 on the surface. However, she was just 8-6 on clay and 8-4 on grass. As for Dodin, she hasn’t won a single match in a tour main draw this season. She’s lost all four matchups that she’s been a part of.
Puig should not suffer in a third set if one occurs, either. Take Puig with your tennis picks in this matchup.
Pick: Puig in three sets
