Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys: Is the American underestimated?

A very interesting WTA tournament started the other day in London. In the round of 16 Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka will clash with American Madison Keys, 28th ranked in the WTA rankings. The winner of this pairing will play the winner of the pair Samsonova vs Kudermetova, i.e. in the quarterfinals, the strongest will meet one of the Russians.

Aryna was a very noticeable player in the clay part of the season. The Belarusian tennis player reached the final of the tournament in Stuttgart, where she lost in the final to Barty. Then Aryna got her revenge against Barty in Madrid, though it was 2-1 in the final. And before beating Barty, Sabalenka knocked out Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the future Roland Garros finalist. By the way, it was Anastasia who knocked Sabalenka out of Roland Garros. By the way, in Paris Aryna was quoted as one of the favourites of the tournament. But Roland Garros for women is good because every year it gives a sensation.

Madison is only 26 years old and it’s too early to call the American a veteran. In her time in the UK, Madison has won grass tournaments in Eastbourne and Birmingham. At Wimbledon, Keys was a quarter-finalist in 2015. The clay part of the season was a failure for Madison, although at Roland Garros the American reached the third round where she lost to Azarenka. In Berlin, she defeated world No. 149 qualifiers Fresh in the first round. That match lasted an hour and 17 minutes.

Aryna is a top tennis player at the moment. However, Sabalenka has no titles on grass yet, unlike Madison Keys, who plays very well on grass, winning on the courts of Eastbourne and Birmingham. The American is slightly underrated, so here are some bets to play with: W2 for 2.98, Handicap 2 (+4) for 1.85, Individual Total 2 Over (11) for 1.90.