The inaugural Lyon Open is a WTA International event held on the indoor hard courts of Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France.
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Jaqueline Cristian vs. Priscilla Hon
Line: Even
Priscilla Hon is cut from the same cloth as Misaki Doi and Camila Giorgi, everything she does is with max force from the baseline. Her heavy forehand makes her a tough out when she finds form, most notably a quarter final run at the Korea Open when she took out Ajla Tomljanovic and Mihaela Buzarnescu.
Jaqueline Cristian appears to be on the brink of arrival. The competition provided by the ITF circuit has allowed the 21 year old to reach at least one semifinal in four of her last six tournaments, which don’t include a quarter final loss against red hot Oceane Dodin where Cristian won the first set.
The line movement tells the story here, as Cristian open at +120, and has moved thirty cents to -110. The Romanian rolls.
Pick: Cristian in 2
Recommended Value: Cristian ML -110
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Caroline Garcia vs. Greet Minnen
Line: Garcia -145 (-2.0 -110), Minnen +115 (+2.0 -120)
Minnen is a smaller scrambler with good recovery speed, but has yet to prove competitive against the WTA’s elite. She hasn’t won a title in her time on tour, which is indicative of her struggles against bigger hitters.
On the other side we have the relentlessly frustrating Caroline Garcia. Last Spring she had an incredible stretch, reaching two finals – winning one – while taking out Brady, Vekic, Cirstea, Hsieh, and Peterson on her way to a 14-5 record in May and June. This success wasn’t sustained whatsoever, but it’s clear that her ceiling is way higher than that of Minnen. Expect Garcia to display all of her attributes tomorrow, good and bad, as she outclasses the Belgian, whilst dropping a set with a mirage of unforced errors coming to Minnen’s aid.
Pick: Garcia in 3
Recommended Value: o21.5 games -110
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Ysaline Bonaventure vs. Marta Kostyuk
Line: Kostyuk -155 (-2.5 -110), Bonaventure +125 (+2.5 -120)
Marta Kostyuk made a name for herself with a miracle fourth round run in the 2018 Australian Open, which she did at only 15 years of age. Now 17, the Ukrainian has been really good on the ITF circuit recently, including a win in Egypt last week.
Ysaline Bonaventure owns the win in the only matchup between the two, but it came in 2018 before Kostyuk’s breakthrough.
I would tend to lean Kostyuk in this matchup, but I’d like to highlight a few numbers that suggest the over 21.5 games is the best play. The over has hit in each of Bonaventure‘s last seven matches, five of which went three sets. Kostyuk has had a few more dominant performances than the Belgian, which is expected given the talent she faces in the challenger circuit, but she has been over 22 games in three of her last four matches as well. This one seems destined to be a marathon.
Pick: Kostyuk in 3
Recommended Value: Kostyuk to win 2-1 (+360)
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