Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Emma Raducanu Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA French Open

Prediction published on 24/05/2022, 09:02  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 24/05/2022 at 10:41 in Tennis Predictions

Emma Raducanu takes on Aliaksandra Sasnovich with both players attempting to reach the French Open third round for the first time. Raducanu is the 12th seed at Roland Garros and that's also her world ranking. The live rankings have her up to tenth and a couple more wins will see her up to ninth. Not for a moment though should you believe that the US Open champion is in the form of a top ten player. With no points to defend, a rise in the ranking is almost inevitable. Raducanu nearly went out in the first round and had to go to three sets to beat qualifier Linda Noskova. Raducanu has struggled since winning in New York last year and her fitness is always a concern. Her best performance on clay is a quarter final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The two players beaten that week were both ranked outside the top 100 and the British number one then lost to the world number one Iga Swiatek in the last eight. Raducanu has only had one win over a top 50 ranked player all year.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich began this tournament ranked 47th in the world, so Raducanu has to double that number of wins over top 50 players. The Belarusian reached the final of the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament at the start of the year, losing to Amanda Anisimova in the final. The quarter finals were reached in St Petersburg and the last 16 at the Miami Masters. Her clay court season got off to a slow start but has picked up of late. Sasnovich got to the last 32 in Madrid and then the last 16 in Strasbourg, losing in three sets to Angelique Kerber, who is a likely third round opponent at Roland Garros. The 28-year-old beat Wang Xinyu in straight sets in the first round of this Grand Slam. In terms of ranking points earned this year, Sasnovich is 26th with Raducanu 54th. It's hard to back the injury-prone Raducanua at present, go for Sasnovich to get the win.