Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Alison Riske Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Nottingham Open

Prediction published on 11/06/2022, 14:38  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 11/06/2022 at 16:14 in Tennis Predictions

Another women's tournament produces an unlikely final. The Nottingham Open sees seventh seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia take on Allison Riske who is the sixth seed. Riske began this tournament ranked 40th in the world but three years ago was as high as 19th. The American has been as low as 57th this year but this run to the final of this grass court tournament has her up to 34th. Winning what will be the fourth WTA title of her career will take her to 31st and that's important if she wants to be seeded at Wimbledon. Riske reached the last eight at Wimbledon three years ago and that year also saw her win a grass court title in the Netherlands. The American is in her second final of the year, the other coming in Adelaide in the early weeks of the year. This is her second final in Nottingham, the other being six years ago when losing to Karolina Pliskova. This week has seen her beat Darlia Snigur, Caroline Garcia, Harriet Dart (after losing the first set) and in her semi-final, Viktorija Golubic in three sets.

Beatriz Haddad Maia was 48th in the world when this Nottingham Open began. That was a career high ranking but the Brazilian is now up to 39th and can go up to 32nd if winning the title. Maia has been as low as 88th this year but been steadily rising up the rankings. This is her third final in the last four tournaments she has played. The other two were both in WTA 125 events in France and played on clay. She won the title in Saint Malo but lost in Paris. Her Roland Garros tournament ended in the second round. The Brazilian is going to have a busy Sunday as she's also in the women's doubles final. This is her first grass court final and her best at Wimbledon has been reaching the second round. To get to this final there have been wins over Wang Qiang (after losing the first set), Yuriko Miyazaki and then the top seeded Maria Sakkari (not that great on grass) in the last eight. Her semi-final saw Maia beat Teresa Martincova. The first set was won 6-3 and her opponent retired when 4-1 down in the second. Riske has more experience on this surface and can win the title.