The Copa Claro Colsanitas tennis tournament moves into the second round in Bogota and so do our tennis picks. A few very surprising results cropped up in the first round, with the No. 2 seed losing to a player outside the top 250, and the top seed losing the first set before the match was suspended and held over into Wednesday. On Tuesday, we saw Anna Tatishvili, Irina Falconi, Sherazad Benamar, Silvia Soler, Elitsa Kostova and Tajana Maria all win in straight sets. None of them were really pushed to their limits in their first matches and all seemed fairly comfortable. There were two matches that required a third set, which was Catalina Pella’s win over Teliana Pereira. Each won a set 6-3 before Pella won the third set 7-6. As for the other match that required three sets, that was Rebecca Peterson, who needed the full allotment to discard of Daniela Seguel. Peterson won the first set 6-4 before dropping the second set 6-3, but then she won the third set 6-3.
Favored players need to be on guard here on Wednesday. With that in mind, here are our tennis picks for the day:
Anne Schaefer vs. Lara Arruabarrena
In this matchup, Arruabarrena – who has had success at this tournament in the past – is the player who is in a comfortable and familiar position. Schaefer is a relatively obscure player who is down the ladder in terms of the higher-ranked female players in Germany. One player has an established reputation on tour, while the other is trying to make a name for herself. If you’re looking at this match strictly from a betting standpoint, you’re probably asking if there’s any real compelling reason to go with the underdog over the fourth-seeded favorite, Arruabarrena. It’s hard to come up with that justification, so go with Arruabarrena in what will probably be a straight-setter. She’s the better choice for your tennis picks.
Pick: Arruabarrena in straight sets
Irina Falconi vs. Sherezad Reix
This is yet another match Falconi should feel good about. The American just beat a 15-year-old wild card in her previous round, almost scoring a double bagel. In this match, Falconi plays a 27-year-old in Reix, but while Reix is 12 years older than the player Falconi beat on Tuesday, she is also someone who has barely done anything in main-draw WTA Tour tennis. Reix actually just did win her first main-draw WTA Tour match on Tuesday. She had never before won such a match. She had either won qualifying matches to get into the field of a WTA Tour event, or she spent a lot of time on the ITF (International Tennis Federation) challenger circuit to work her way up to this point.
Reix is a lefty from France who likes to use combinations of lobs and drop shots. She is not a power player, and so Falconi will not be facing an opponent who will blow her off the court. As long as Falconi moves well and establishes good court position, she probably won’t make a lot of errors and can play the steady match she needs. Reix is hoping to throw Falconi off balance, but the American veteran probably won’t get rattled in what is another good matchup for her. Take Falconi with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Falconi in straight sets
Paula Cristina Goncalves vs. Tatjana Maria
This is a match in which Goncalves has to be worried about her weaknesses. The scouting report on Goncalves is that she has a great forehand and a terrible backhand. Maria will relentlessly work that backhand side, and Goncalves has to steer points so that she can hit more forehands, and not just that, but forehands from neutral or winning positions on the court. Ultimately, having a terrible backhand is just too much of a liability. Maria is a seeded player, someone who should be good enough to take advantage of the disparity between Goncalves’ forehand and backhand strokes. That’s why you should take Maria with your tennis picks and expect a straight-sets win.
Pick: Maria in straight sets
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