Tuesday, June 19, 2007

WTA TENNIS .... AI SUGIYAMA- MARA SANTANGELO


I spent a long time looking at the Nottingham event and was very keen on Robby Ginepri to beat PHM, but was just not convinced that he is over the mental strain of losing 6 first round matches in a row, one more win should do it.

Santangelo is 11-10 on grass and made the semi final at Birmingham last week, she also beat Sugiyama last year in their only previous meeting on grass, in two close sets. All that makes very good reading, but should she really be so short to beat the Japanese veteran ?

Sugiyama has really come to terms with grass in recent years, especially at Wimbledon where she has three 4th round appearances and one quarter final. After that early loss to Santangelo she went on a bit of a rush and recorded some nice results on grass, including a win over Hingis. It may be that she just needs a little time to adjust,after the clay court season, so I can forgive her a first round loss last week. Her all round grass form is stronger than her opponent and their rankings are very similar. I see no reason why Ai should be priced at 2.80+.

3 points Sugiyama to beat Santangelo 2.86 + betfair.



Back Later.

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