Belinda Bencic vs Jessica Pegula Prediction & Betting Tips - Women's Olympic Tournament

Prediction published on 22/07/2021, 13:01  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 23/07/2021 at 11:56 in Tennis Predictions

Belinda Bencic is seeded ninth for the Olympics Women's Singles tournament. The Swiss player faces a tough opening round match though as she takes on Jessica Pegula. The winner of this match takes on either Misaki Doi or Renata Zarazau in the second round (last 32). Bencic is the world number 12 but has been a bit inconsistent in recent months. That was shown when failing to beat world number 102 Kaja Juvan in the first round at Wimbledon. This is her first match since that early exit. In her last 11 tournments, only twice has she got to the last eight. One of those was a grass court tournament held in Berlin, where she won the title.

Jessica Pegula was ranked number 80 this time last year but is currently the word number 25. A run to the last eight of the Australian Open began what has been a good year for the American. That was followed by a semi-final in Doha and another last eight appearance, this time in Dubai. She'd probably have preferred to draw Karolina Pliskova, as Pegula has beaten her four times this year. Her form has dipped a little bit of late but did get to the quarter finals in Berlin recently, again beating Pliskova. Pegula has a good record on hard courts and a knack of beating players ranked above her. Go for Pegula to cause a surprise.