The field at the WTA St Petersburg Event this week includes a sprinkling of top players including Britain’s Johanna Konta. She goes as one of the top four seeds playing in the tournament. This is a Premier level event. It could produce some fantastic matchups deeper into the week.
WTA St Petersburg Winner Odds*
Petra Kvitova 3/1
Belinda Benci 5/1
Kiki Beterns 13/2
Joanna Konta 10/1
Ekaterina Alexandrova 10/1
Donna Vekic 14/1
Marketa Vondrousova 14/1
Elena Rybakina 25/1
Jelena Ostapenko 25/1
38/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02)
Kvitova leads St Petersburg field
Third seed Petra Kvitova is the 3/1 outright favourite in WTA St Petersburg betting* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02). She was the champion here in 2018.
Kvitova comes back into action for the first time since her quarter-final exit the Australian Open against Ashleigh Barty. In that Australian Open campaign, she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova and Maria Sakkari, both of whom are in this draw.
Speaking of the draw, it’s very nice for Kvitova. The top seed she could meet before the semi-finals is 7th seed Donna Vekic.
Bertens aims for title defence
Kiki Bertens lifted the St Petersburg title last season with a victory in the final over Donna Vekic. Bertens is ranked inside the top ten in the world. But she had a relatively early exit from the Australian Open when Garbine Muguruza got the better of her in the round of sixteen.
There is always a bit of extra pressure when trying to defend a title. Mertens has handled herself against lower-ranked players this season in Brisbane and Melbourne. But she hasn’t stepped up in tougher matches as of yet.
Wildcard Bencic goes as number one seed
Switzerland’s Belinda Benic has accepted a wildcard for St Petersburg. So you would imagine that the 22-year-old is going to be pretty driven for the event. She was a quarter-finalist in Adelaide.
Bencic then bowed out in the third round at the Australian Open where she lost 6-0 6-1 against Annet Kontaveit in a shocker. This may be more about her searching for ways to regain a little confidence after that. She is ranked 5th in the world so should be a threat.
Konta lines up as 4th seed
Johanna Konta had a disappointing first-round exit at the Australian Open. But the Brit comes in as fourth seed for St Petersburg. You never know with her, but her early section of the draw gives her a good chance to get some momentum going for the season. She could meet eight seed Elena Rybankina in the quarters. But at that stage, it could be any one of a clutch of very tricky opponents.
Other contenders
Maria Sakkari who was looking in good shape at the Australian Open goes in the top section where she will oppose Bencic. She lost in the fourth round against Petra Kvitova at the Australian Open, but only after having taken the first set.
She’s a battler and while she needs to bring a bit of finesse to her game she is an interesting 20/1 each-way punt here* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02).
There are a lot of very good youngsters on the WTA at the moment. Elena Rybankina is one of those. But she is in a fascinating section where she opens against Katerina Siniakova. Then she would play the winner of Anastasija Sevastova and Caroline Garcia.
That’s a great little section to watch for a potential quarter-final against Konta. Rybankina, who has won a title this year already, is a 25/1 option so in the each-way range* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02).
Marketa Vondrousova may not be helped too much by the draw. She would have to face Bertens in the quarters and then Kvitova in the semis if things play out to form and seeding, so that is a tough route for her to deal with but she is a 14/1 shot for the event* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02).
WTA St Petersburg Predictions
Kvitova looks to be the stand-out performer here. She has former winner Kristina Mladenovic and last year’s losing finalist Donna Vekic in her section, but she can handle that and is worth backing at even a 3/1 price in this field. If it comes down to a duel between her and Bertens in the semis we’d back Kvitova.
The top half of the draw is tougher to call. Konta, not a long enough price to warrant going for, which Bencic should be a banker for a quarter-final berth. B
But it’s Maria Sakkari, who showed some good maturity in her Australian Open campaign that gets the nod as a 20/1 option* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:02). She is at twelves with some bookies.
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