To kick things off on January 3 I have two underdog bets that have caught my eye, including a strong confident bet on a $3 underdog in Shenzhen
Stay tuned to twitter for more plays later today/tonight
WTA New Zealand – Strycova vs Stefkova
Happy to side with the qualifier in Stefkova here up against Strycova in her first match of the year. Stefkova has been very impressive across qualifying, dropping only the one set (vs Minella) as well as destroying Martincova, who did impress me late in 2016.
Strycova is not immune to losses to lowly ranked players, with 6 losses in 2016 to players outside the top 50 (lowest ranked loss – 177 – Kozlova – straight sets) and I feel if there is ever a time to oppose Strycova in January, then this is it.
Suggested Bet
2 units Stefkova to defeat Strycova at $4.50 at Unibet
WTA Shenzhen – Niculescu vs Wang
I was incredibly impressed with the performance of Wang in the first round against Rodina. She was nearly flawless in her performance, knocking out the in form Russian in straight sets.
Niculescu is one of those players that I love to oppose in the right situation. She can play brilliant tennis, as we saw at times last year, but she also ended with a 19-14 win/loss record against players outside the top 50.
To beat Niculsecu, you need to have patience (mainly to handle the forehand slice), as well as the ability to hit winners off both wings, and Wang ticks all the boxes.
I understand that Niculescu is favourite, but what I can't agree with is Wang being over $3. I would have placed Wang around the $2.25 mark, and as such, a strong play at the price is warranted for Wang to get the home win here today.
Suggested Bet
4 units Wang to defeat Niculescu at $3.05 at Pinnacle
