Swedish Open Quarters - Wozniacki vs. Kirilenko

Bastad, Sweden – It was a mixed day for the seeded players at the Swedish Open. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki punched at her weight class, coming through on her favourite odds as she topped Petra Kvitova in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Next up for Dane tennis sensation, Wozniacki is Maria Kirilenko of Russia. The Russian is much better than her current ranking of No.53 and she showed up her opponent sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ranked No.33) today when she ousted her in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.

Tennis Betting Odds:  Caroline Wozniacki -1000         Maria Kirilenko     +500  

Match Time: 05:00 A.M. Eastern Time Thursday July 9 2009

Head-to-head Analysis: Caroline Wozniacki leads the head-to-head series 2-0; most recently, she beat Maria Kirilenko in the R64 at Wimbledon 6-0, 6-4.

Caroline Wozniacki -1000: The 18-year-old Wozniacki is a fast rising star on the WTA tour. Recently, she broke into the top ten (at No.9) and she enters the tournament as the top seed and favourite for the title. Wozniacki goes into this match with a hefty -1000 price tag. Steep it may be, but she has value. She is 45-13 on the season with two titles – one came on clay at Ponte Vedra.

Maria Kirilenko +500: The Russian has dipped in rankings recently after struggling during the first half of the season. She is better than her No.53 ranking and a good clay courter. She has won titles on this surface. At +500 odds she is priced correctly when considering her season that stands distressingly at 9-14. Yet, there is some value on her – minimal though.

Tennis Betting Verdict: Maria Kirilenko topped sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. One could look to Pavlyuchenkova’s age and relative inexperience as the cause of her failure to keep her end as the sixth seed but that would be to miss the point. Kirilenko beat her and soundly. Wozniacki is a top ten player and with such pretensions, high expectations follow, namely holding her end by winning. So far, Wozniacki has moved through the tournament untroubled, punching at her weight class with relative ease. Kirilenko poses a different challenge. The Russian is capable on clay and she has the ability to give Wozniacki plenty to think about tomorrow.

At times, Wozniacki wobbled against lesser opponents this season. Kirilenko by her low ranking would appear to be a lesser opponent but she isn’t really as I have already mentioned she is a better player than her ranking would suggest. Granted it is more likely Wozniacki will advance but tennis bettors would do worse than take a chance on this quality underdog as an upset is a real possibility here.

Tennis Free Picks: Kirilenko in three sets