Tennis best bets for ATP Shanghai and WTA Beijing – Thursday, October 5
There isn’t much time left in the 2023 tennis season, but the Asian swing brings us some really big tournaments. This week, the men are in action for a 1000-level event, which is the biggest a tournament can be outside of the four Grand Slams. Meanwhile, the women are playing in a 500-level tournament, so I’ll also be keeping tabs on that. That said, I wanted to put together some best bets for both ATP Shanghai and WTA Beijing. Keep reading for my three plays for Thursday, October 5 (with some starting on Wednesday, October 4 in the United States).
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Xinyu Wang vs. Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari has been playing well lately, as she has won eight of her last nine matches and won a title in Guadalajara a couple of weeks ago. With that in mind, I understand why she’s a heavy favorite in this match. But Wang has won 17 of her last 20 matches. She is absolutely scorching at the moment, and that makes it hard to envision her losing this match in straight sets. Wang has a big serve and some powerful, flat groundstrokes. So, she has the power to match Sakkari here. She also happens to be playing on home soil, so I imagine the crowd will give her a bit of a lift in this one. That said, I’m playing Wang +1.5 sets and I’m not thinking twice about it.
Bet: Wang +1.5 Sets (-120)
Diego Schwartzman vs. Luca van Assche
Schwartzman’s game has really tailed off over the last few years, but I was encouraged by his performance in a loss to Alexander Zverev in Beijing. Schwartzman won an opening set tiebreaker against Zverev in that one. And the fact he was able to stay competitive with an elite player means he might be able to start winning some matches soon. Also, I do think Schwartzman has the type of game that can give a player like van Assche trouble. The young Frenchman is a very sturdy player, but I’m not sure he has the tools to blow a player like Schwartzman off the court. That’s one of the things that has caught up to Schwartzman recently. His physical limitations stand out more these days. But I don’t think he’ll be overpowered here, and I think his ability to construct points and play high-level defense will help him win this thing.
Bet: Schwartzman ML (-120)
Veronika Kudermetova vs. Coco Gauff
I think this is a tricky match for Gauff, who hasn’t played much since the US Open. The American has won two matches this week, with a straight-set win over Ekaterina Alexandrova and a three-set win over Petra Martic. But I’m just a little nervous about how she’ll play these next few weeks after having won her first major. Kudermetova also happens to be playing some high-level tennis right now, as she won last week’s event in Tokyo. Kudermetova earned wins over Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula in that event, so there aren’t many players that are playing better than she is right now. That makes it hard for me to imagine Gauff winning this thing in straight sets. Also, each of the previous two matches between these two have gone to a deciding third.
Bet: Kudermetova +1.5 Sets (-110)
2023 Overall Record: 284-260 (+45.76 units)
