Wimbledon 2022, Round of 16, Sunday, 03.07.2022
The German ladies and Wimbledon 2022, it just fits! Angelique Kerber may have been knocked out in the 3rd round, but there are two others who are making a complete surprise of themselves.
One of them has reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time at the ripe old age of 34. Although she is only the outsider in this round at Bet365, she already knows this role.
In my Maria Ostapenko betting tip, I reveal why I expect a close match!
Very few people would have expected her! Tatjana Maria is unexpectedly playing the tournament of her life at Wimbledon. She is 34 years old, but should it be now, in the autumn of her career, that she achieves a major success?
The world number 102 slipped through into the main draw, thus saving herself the tiresome qualification. She actually started with a lost set, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Astra Sharma.
Then, for the first time, she faced Sorana Cirstea, an opponent who was far superior to her in the rankings. But Maria didn’t care, she won 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, keeping her nerve in the decisive moments.
As good as she had been up to this point, by the 3rd round at the latest, almost everyone predicted her certain elimination. Maria Sakkari was considered to be several numbers too big, but against her strongest opponent of all, the German unpacked an outright victory!
6-3, 7-5, what an incredible performance. She took three of her five break chances and fended off six of seven. With 75% of her first serve points won, she also had strengths in her service game.
Since the 2018 US Open, whenever Maria had been in a main draw in a Grand Slam, she had always been knocked out in the 1st round.
She will be able to live with being in the clear underdog role at home on Sunday. 4.80 to 1.15 on average, she can’t hold her own at Betano either. Against Sakkari, however, the odds were even higher, yet the match went to Maria in the end.
Some experts had expected Jelena Ostapenko to reach the last 16, as the Latvian is ranked 17th in the world. In 2017, she won the French Open, and a year later she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time.
Great successes, but since then she has hardly been able to convince on the big stage. She never reached the last 16 again, so Wimbledon 2022 can already be seen as a positive tournament.
She started with problems in London, winning 6-4, 6-4 against Oceane Dodin. A few days later in the 2nd round, the victory was already clearer, Ostapenko took a 6-2, 6-2 against Yanina Wickmayer.
Surprisingly, she dropped the first set against Irina-Camelia Begu in the 3rd round, 3-6, but her subsequent comeback was all the stronger, with the 25-year-old quickly cruising to a 6-1, 6-1.
There is no real system to be seen with Ostapenko. Against Begu, she converted six of ten break chances, against Wickmayer, however, only four of 13. Her service scores also read as anything but consistent.
Her preparation for Wimbledon was quite successful, Ostapenko reached the final in Eastbourne, but lost to Petra Kvitova. Since her Dubai title almost five months ago, she has nevertheless declined, mostly her results are strong only in doubles.
My Maria Ostapenko Tip
Tatjana Maria is desperate to continue her run on Sunday. The 34-year-old doesn’t let opponents with stronger names put her under pressure and keeps her cool in difficult situations.
Of course, Jelena Ostapenko has the higher individual class, but the Latvian had a few problems in the 3rd round. I can’t imagine that she will be able to win against the strong Maria in no time. Therefore my tip is:
We see more than 18.5 Games!
