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Swiatek progresses with ease
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Andreeva sets up Gauff clash
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Pavlyuchenkova the recommendation on tricky day
Andreeva again showing her huge potential
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek both eased through their second round matches yesterday but perhaps the biggest talking point was how Mirra Andreeva disposed of another opponent with such ease. The 16-year-old now faces Cori Gauff in round three and do not be surprised if Andreeva receives decent market support in the next day or so and starts closer to even money.
Before that, though, is the first batch of eight round three clashes, with third and fourth quarter players on the schedule. This means Aryna Sabalenka is the main contender in action. She faces Kamilla Rakhimova, and is priced up as a virtual bye to win, but most other matches look at least fairly competitive here.
Muchova with far higher ceiling than Begu
Karolina Muchova versus Irina Begu is where we start, and Muchova has the slight market edge at 1.774/5. The two players met in rather quicker conditions in Madrid recently, with Muchova the 1.501/2 pre-match favourite, but Beau did win 6-4 7-5. However, there's a fair price difference between that and today though, which I'm not sure is entirely merited.
Muchova had an excellent win over Maria Sakkari in round one, while Begu has beaten two rather lowly ranked players to get this far having had a kind early draw. Data does give Begu a bit of an edge, but I just suspect Muchova's higher ceiling should be considered. A tough one.
Pav the pick of value on tough card
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova impressed in beating Liudmilla Samsonova in round two, and the former runner-up here now faces Anastasia Potapova on Friday. After a long absence from tour, Pav is looking to recover her ranking (a career best of 11 reached around 1.5 years ago) and it's worth noting that she's got higher service points won and return points won percentages on clay so far this season.
Given this, Pavlyuchenkova at an underdog price of 2.466/4 does appeal to some degree. I'm not hugely sold on it but it looks the pick of the value on Friday.
In other matches, Clara Tauson has an excellent chance to continue her tournament and start to really boost her ranking to get direct entry in some better events, while Elina Svitolina also has the same opportunity against Anna Blinkova.
Both are priced up around the 1.51/2 mark. Tauson I do expect to win but I'm still working out Svitolina's current level, and a win here and a potential meeting with Daria Kasatkina in round four would help me with that assessment.