More evidence of slow conditions in Paris
There was a fascinating day's play in Paris on Sunday with the main talking point arguably Victoria Azarenka having an issue with the temperature and conditions in her win over Danka Kovinic - where I thought she might have been tested more. Several matches did end up in a surprise result though, with Dayana Yastremska, Anett Kontaveit and Jo Konta among those exiting on the opening day.
Interestingly, there is some evidence of conditions being slow from this year's women's data so far - fairly similar to the men's event - with just under 54% of service points being won yesterday. It will be interesting to monitor this figure as the tournament progresses.
Puig will need to adapt to conditions against Errani
Initially, I quite liked Monica Puig at 2.3611/8 to get the better of Sara Errani, whose serve issues continue to cause her difficulty. However, the Italian veteran will probably enjoy the slow conditions and (albeit over fairly limited opposition) has qualified to be here, so has already played a few matches in these conditions.
I was hoping that my preferred pick for the entire round was going to be in action today but her match is held over until Tuesday - I'll keep this under my hat for now, so more on that then - so we are a little thin on the ground in terms of workable value on today's schedule, with again, more questions than answers being the case for most matches.
Kuzmova with underdog potential against Kristyna Pliskova
Viktoria Kuzmova looks slight value - particularly in these slower conditions - at 2.829/5 against the big-serving Kristyna Pliskova. The lower-ranked Pliskova sister actually doesn't have bad clay data at all over the last 18 months but does look better-suited to the quicker clay events, such as Prague in August where the reached the semi-final. However Kuzmova has had two rather straightforward losses in her two main tour matches post-lockdown and also didn't qualify at the Western & Southern Open.
Juvan capable of pushing Kerber towards exit
In other matches, I wouldn't be shocked at all if Kaja Juvan, at 2.0811/10, got the better of Angelique Kerber. The former world number one, Kerber, has been backed in from around even money here but I'm not convinced of her current level at all. Today, against a young player with a ton of future upside on clay in particular, Kerber could well struggle. Juvan is on the verge of breaking into the top 100 and looks very capable, based on her previous clay results, of pushing a big name towards the exit here.
Bertens worth assessing post-injury
Other big names in action on Monday include Petra Kvitova, Kiki Bertens, Elina Svitolina and Serena Williams. Of the quartet, I'm most interested to see how Bertens fares against Katarina Zavatska, given Bertens' injury issues in her previous match. She is 1.182/11 to get the win, which looks about right to me, but it will be useful to assess Bertens' level here for matches in subsequent rounds.
Swiatek versus Vondrousova the match of the day
Finally, arguably the match of the day is between Iga Swiatek and Marketa Vondrousova - two young players with extremely high potential - notably on clay. Swiatek has already reached the top 50 at just 19 years of age and her clay numbers at a lower level were stratospheric. However, today, she faces last year's runner-up, Vondrousova, who looked to be getting back towards her best in her run to the semi-finals in Rome several weeks ago - this should be a fascinating match between two young players who I think are capable of getting towards the business end of Grand Slam tournaments on a regular basis in the coming years.
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