Our Andy Schooler was back in profit on Saturday at the US Open and he’s got 11/8 and 9/5 picks for Sunday’s last-16 action.
Recommended bets
1pt Angelique Kerber to beat Jennifer Brady at 9/5
1pt Petra Martic to beat Yulia Putintseva 2-0 at 11/8
Jennifer Brady v Angelique Kerber
I wrongly opposed Brady the other day against Caroline Garcia, although her opponent had chances in both sets. Sadly, she went 0-for-5 on break points.
Many now see Brady as a title contender but she’s about to enter new territory here – victory would see her reach the first Grand Slam quarter-final of her career.
That will bring extra pressure for the favourite, and so too will the player on the other side of the net.
Kerber, the 2016 champion in New York, has all the experience and with her excellent defensive game she will look to soak up the power of Brady and get her running more than she’s had to so far at this tournament.
They’ve never faced each other before so while Brady could hold a surprise factor here, I suspect this is an area where Kerber’s experience could prove useful – adapting to an opponent’s game.
The German is yet to lose a set at this year’s event and just looks too big at 9/5 to pull off the upset.
Petra Martic v Yulia Putintseva
Followers of my ante-post preview still have a runner in the quarter betting in the form of Martic.
She still needs two wins but is favourite for this contest against the ball-bashing Putintseva.
The pint-sized Kazakh gives the ball a thump off the ground but her game can be erratic and when it does go wrong her famous temper can come out to play.
A key to this match could be her weaker serve – at 5ft 4in she struggles to get the pace into it and Martic may well be able to take advantage of that.
She’s created no fewer than 48 break points in her three rounds so far, converting 15, and should be able to fashion plenty more here.
Her bigger serve will doubtless be attacked – expect a few breaks the other way too – but her more consistent tennis can win the day here and 11/8 about a straight-sets victory looks the way to go.
Posted of 2225 BST on 05/09/20
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