CzechPunter

Hi @James32021950 and welcome to the forum! I honestly don't think Dimitrov is at the required level at the moment, but I haven't watched Alcaraz in a while now, so I don't know much in that regard unfortunately. Maybe someone else knows a bit more? Jeong Su Jang to beat Emina Bektas at 2.06 with Unibet I watched Jang against Kenin and she was incredibly solid, not giving her illustrious opponent anything for free. Bektas isn't on the same level as Kenin, and she can get easily frustrated by motivated opponents that can move and defend well, with Jang certainly fitting that description. Going to three sets against Pigossi is hardly convincing, too, so I think the value lies with Jang here.

Arantxa Rus to beat Claire Liu at 2.02 with Unibet Time to get some wins on the hard courts for Rus here. Liu was pretty bad against a completely unknown opponent in the first round, and she isn't going to get much for free against Rus like she did in that match. At odds against, Rus is the play for me here.

Zhuoxuan Bai to beat Tamara Korpatsch at 1.74 with Unibet Korpatsch really struggled with the conditions and her opponent's aggression in the qualifiers, and Bai is pretty aggressive and hits big. With the home conditions on her side as well, I think this is a good opportunity that she should take. She's been promising for a while now, and I think she's got way more talent than Korpatsch as well.

Yu Hsiou Hsu (+4.5) to beat Hubert Hurkacz at 1.95 with Unibet Hsu is by no means a household name, but he's been doing very well lately, and he managed to just crush Musetti, the world's number 18, in the previous round. I don't believe that he'll beat Hurkacz as well, but I do think that he has every chance of keeping the scoreboard close with his good serve and good form.

Cori Gauff to beat Iga Swiatek at 2.38 with Bet365 Swiatek hasn't been at her usual level so far in Asia, and I think that Gauff is the ideal opponent to take advantage of that. Confident, rested enough, with just enough match practice against reasonable names after the GS win, etc. She has the right power to deal with Swiatek's shots, and she can actually put her under pressure without sacrificing a lot in terms of accuracy. I honestly don't even know why Swiatek is the favourite according to the bookies!

Elena Rybakina to beat Aryna Sabalenka at 2.38 with Unibet Based on the action so far, I like Rybakina at odds against. She's looked more confident and determined, and I think that she's also been serving a little bit better. The margin is tight here, but I think Rybakina is the value pick today.

Alexander Shevchenko to beat Hsin Tseng Chun at 1.58 with Unibet I'll back Shevchenko again despite the disappointment last week, Chun is not a great player on balance, and Shevchenko certainly has way more potential than him plus recent match practice against stronger opposition.

She wanted to get some practice in before a veterans tournament that will happen in a couple of weeks. She won't even play Barthel, because ITF didn't like the fact that she didn't announce her "comeback" in the specified way.

@four-leaf We don't, she just wanted to play doubles with her niece, which she even didn't in the end.

Katie Boulter (+6.5) to beat Aryna Sabalenka at 1.66 with Unibet I don't expect Boulter to keep this incredibly tight, but the +6.5 handicap looks a touch high to me given that she's been playing really well so far in the event. She was bombing everyone out in the qualifiers, and she also had a good first round performance against Frech.

Elena Rybakina to beat Qinwen Zheng at 1.67 with Bet365 Rybakina didn't play in Tokyo, since she was angry with the organisers, but at least she'll have more time to prepare for this, and I think she will be able to out-muscle Zheng eventually. Zheng had a long week ahead of this tournament, winning the Asian Games without many difficulties, but getting back to full strength both mentally and physically might prove to be quite tricky.

Dominic Thiem to beat Marcos Giron at 2.10 with Bet365 I'm willing to give Thiem one last chance, as I liked him against Varillas and as Giron really isn't the toughest of opponents. The conditions in Astana can actually give Thiem's game a bit more incisiveness, which he's really lacked lately, and Giron's mentality often fails him. Like it or not, Thiem is still a big name in that regard.

Alexander Shevchenko to beat Hamad Medjedovic at 2.20 with Bet365 Shevchenko is the more talented player of the two for me, and he's improved massively since the two previous encounters he had against Medjedovic. He basically crushed Van De Zandschulp in the previous round, and I have no idea why he's the underdog in this one. Honestly, I'd have the odds the other way around!

Zvonareva won exactly how I imagined it lol! Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to beat Linda Noskova at 2.10 with Bet365 I'm not convinced that Noskova deserves to be the favourite in this match. Pavlyuchenkova had a lot of success in Tokyo historically, and she was flying against Vekic in the first round. If she produces the same performance here, she should be in with more than just a shout, and the fact that she's the favorite should actually weigh Noskova down if her past result are anything to go by.

Vera Zvonareva to beat Clara Tauson at 3.20 with Unibet Taking this with a one set bookie, since I don't trust Tauson's fitness at all. Zvonareva should test here much more than Avanesyan after beating Boulter, and Tauson can just start tiring out at any point if her recent performances are anything to go by. I wouldn't have Vera above 2.50 here.

Misaki Doi (+5.5) to beat Petra Martic at 1.83 with Bet365 I don't exactly expect Doi to have enough to defeat Martic, but she's already played in the conditions and she will have some support at least, while Martic has no match practice since the US Open. Their previous meetings are rather old, but Doi covered this line in both losses, so at least they don't speak against this bet.

Magda Linette to beat Yulia Putintseva at 1.91 with Bet365 I didn't see Linette's match against Masarova, but she was seriously good against Saville, and she also outlasted Burrage after dropping her first set in the event against her. Putintseva has had a much easier route here, beating the incredibly struggling Tauson and then the not-so-great-anymore Maria. Linette likes the courts, and she can hit Putintseva off the court in ways that Maria can't. I would have her at 1.70 here at most.

Emiliana Arango (+1.5 sets) to beat Maria Sakkari at 2.60 with Unibet Arango is playing the tournament of her life in Guadalajara, and the fact that she managed that comeback against Townsend should allow her to play without fear against Sakkari. She's not as good, no doubt, but Sakkari has been very shaky under pressure almost all season long, and I don't think it's unrealistic for her to lose a set here, not at all.

Greetje Minnen to beat Harriet Dart at 1.50 with Bet365 I backed Dart against Niemeier in the previous round and I was happy with the outcome, but I wasn't particularly happy with how Dart played. She was very lacklustre, with plenty of double faults, while Minnen looked much better against Parry.

Daria Saville (-3.5) to beat Anna-Lena Friedsam at 1.81 with Unibet Rebecca Marino (+2.5) to beat Viktorija Golubic at 1.83 with Bet365 Saville should just outlast Friedsam in the Guangzhou conditions, I don't think Friedsam is anywhere near regular WTA level anymore unfortunately, while I didn't like Golubic in the qualifiers. Her serve is very attackable, and she seemed to struggle a bit physically as well. Marino can serve big and attack serves as well, which could prove to be the right strategy against Golubic in this encounter.

Camila Giorgi to beat Mayar Sherif at 1.57 with Unibet This looks like a great opportunity for Giorgi to finally get a win on the board, Sherif should lack the skills to do well in the Guadalajara conditions, where it's really hard to control the ball. Giorgi needs to control one or two balls to win a rally, while Sherif needs a fair bit more than that. Harriet Dart to beat Jule Niemeier at 1.93 with Unibet Niemeier looked like a big talent at one point, and she might still come back to do something, but she's been very up and down so far this season, mostly down. She tends to snowball performances well, but she's without much practice here, while Dart got a decent match against Savinykh in during the qualifiers, which should serve her well. I'd also say that she's the fitter of the two, and the Guangzhou conditions look like one of those in which fitness can play a role (in the qualifiers, both Volodko and Golubic looked tired after less than 2 hours).