The tennis action on the WTA moves on to France with this event in Lyon this week. It is a lower-tiered event at International level, but there is a big story here.
2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin heads the field as the favourite, but her form since her Grand Slam success has been suspect. This is a new event for this year.
WTA Lyon Winner Odds*
Sofia Kenin 5/2
Kristina Mladenovic 7/1
Camila Giorgi 8/1
Alison Van Uytvanck 9/1
Caroline Garcia 9/1
Daria Kasatkina 10/1
Alize Cornet 12/1
Ysaline Bonaventure 14/1
Viktoria Kuzmova 14/1
Ana Bogdan 16/1
Anna-Lena Friedsam 18/1
Time Babos 20/1
22/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:52 GMT on Saturday 29th February 2020)
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Table of Contents
Can Kenin step it back up again?
2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin is cutting a somewhat frustrated figure currently. The young American has suffered from a lack of form since her Grand Slam success.
Kenin had a first-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championship and second round fail at last week’s Qatar Open after having received a bye in the first round.
So Kenin has fallen a long way short of her Melbourne Park standards that is for sure. Will the drop-down in level to this International-tier event help her get back on track?
She goes as the 3/1 favourite, but that quote may just lend appeal to opposing her* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:52 GMT on Saturday 29th February 2020)
Mladenovic leads French hopes
There is a good contingent of French players lining up in Lyon. Kristina Mladenovic is leading the home charge and goes as the second seed.
She has a pretty comfortable draw in her quarter too. The highest-ranked player that she could meet on her path to the semifinals is world 85 Viktoria Kuzmova.
But then you look at the 2020 form of Mladenovic and there’s not much to write home about. She came through three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw of Dubai where she lost in the second round. The French player then took a tumble in the opening round of Qatar last week.
Can Garcia or Cornet find home form?
Caroline Garcia is much in the same boat as Mladenovic, namely lacking current form. She was a first-round loser at the Qatar Open as well and carries only a 2/5 win-loss record for the season. The former world number four has looked far from her best.
Alize Cornet actually looks the pick of leading French contenders. She hasn’t been in action since the St Petersburg Ladies tournament where she secured a good win in the opening round of Jelena Ostapenko before falling to Maria Sakkari.
So Cornet should be relatively fresh for this home contest. She will open against a qualifier as well which may help her settle into things. Cornet looks a nice little 12/1 e/w flutter* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:52 GMT on Saturday 29th February 2020)
Can Kasatkina get it together?
Young Russian Daria Kasatkina is another player who really hasn’t found her feet this season just yet. She failed to get through the qualifiers for Dubai where she lost in straight sets to Kristina Mlaavenovic.
She is on a four-match winless streak in the main draws of competitions this year.
Interestingly, Kastakina who is one of the better players in the field and comes in as a wildcard is in the same quarter as Cornet. So that third-quarter does actually lend appeal to producing the outright winner.
Alison van Uytvanck looks competitive
Opposing Carolina Garcia up in the second quarter is Alison Van Uytvank. The Belgian is the fifth highest-ranked player on the WTA heading into action in Lyon.
She just lost out in the final qualifying round for Dubai but she did open her St Petersburg account before that with a win over Mladenovic.
Van Uytvanck then took Petra Kvitova to three sets in the round of sixteen, Van Uytvank losing.
She was competitive in Qatar last week as well, where she only lost out in the second round to 2020 star Elena Rybakina in a tie break in the deciding set.
Predictions & Tips
Sofia Kenin is head and shoulders, the best player in this field. But she looks to be just a little bit frustrated and out of sorts at the moment. That is what the pressure of winning your first Grand Slam can do to you.
Kenin should crush the draw that is in front of her and the highest-ranked players she could meet in the final four would be 3rd seed Carolina Garcia of 5th seed Alison Van Uytvank.
That having been said, at 3/1 that’s not exactly appealing enough* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:52 GMT on Saturday 29th February 2020)
So we are going with Van Utyvnak who has been competitive lately, to come through and cause an upset at the 9/1 quote to lift the title* (betting odds taken from Betfair at 23:52 GMT on Saturday 29th February 2020).
The other outsider pick would be our pick of the key French contenders Alize Cornet from the other half of the WTA Lyon draw.
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