WTA Baku Cup Tennis Betting Info
Naturally with the Olympics right around the corner, things are going to be a little understated for your tennis betting this week. The big guns are all resting up and fine tuning their Olympic ambitions, while only a handful of the WTA players are in action this week. This gives us a look as some other names for a change and still some good tennis betting options.
WTA Baku Cup Tennis Betting Defending Champion
There was a decent crop of challengers for the Baku (Azerbaijan) title at this time last year, and it was Russian Vera Zvonareva who took the honours. She has almost gone invisible at the game at the moment, as she just can’t hit the levels that she was producing which took her close to Grand Slam titles. She’s not playing here to defend her title.
WTA Baku Cup Tennis Betting Favourite
With Zvonareva gone, along with some of the better quality that was seen here last year, it is Russia’s Ksenia Pervak who is trading as the outright favourite. If this is one of the cases of a player fitting a tournament, then she should go well. She was in storing form here last season (helped along with a walkover past Aravane Rezai) but took her chances and booked herself a spot in the final. She was outclassed and out-powered by Zvonareva at that point, but still, she returns to Caucasus as the top seed. This isn’t a player you would normally look at, but during 2012 she has put in some decent runs at Bad Gastein, Indian Wells and Miami and the rest of the season has pretty much been early exits from tournaments. Still, the draw is all set for Pervak, who is ranked 68th in the world. There is no player inside the top 100 in her half of the draw, so with a bit of focus she could well be back in the final, and this is on the hard surface, where she raises her game.
Other Contenders
Down in the bottom half, it is going to be worth taking a look at world number 72 Alexandra Panova. She has also been able to produce some decent moments this year, including reaching the final of Bogota and hitting the quarter finals of Strasbourg. The Russian does split some of her time between the ITF and the WTA, but looks to be the biggest threat to Pervak walking off with the title. She is on the up, hasn’t been in the strongest form of late in better quality fields, but this level should suit her to a tee.
Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski. Surprised we really haven’t seen a bit more from her as a force, still she’s only twenty and has some promise to her game. She is ranked at 97 in the world, and still some development to do, but has potential. She could easily go well here, she is tested enough against top players to make an impact in an event like this. So wouldn’t be too surprised to see her making a charge this week in an evenly matched field.
Best Outside Bet
Nina Bratichikova, another of Russia’s rising stars is also going to be a bit of value as well. She has been racing up the world rankings lately and she has a massive game from the baseline. She is very hard hitting, perfectly suited to the hart courts and has scored victories against the likes of Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta this season. Still not really come close to a title, but her ranking was stuck at 143 for 2010 and 2011 but is now just outside the top 100. Experienced on the ITF and worth a good shot here.
Latest WTA Baku Cup Tennis Betting Prices at online bookmaker Bet Victor
Ksenia Pervak 7/2, Alexandra Panova 6/1, Bojana Jovanovski 10/1, Alberta Brianti 10/1, Mandy Minella 16/1, Lesia Tsurenko 16/1
Online Bookmaker Promotion
Online bookmaker Bet Victor run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.
