Emma Raducanu vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Indian Wells

Prediction published on 07/10/2021, 10:03  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 07/10/2021 at 11:28 in Tennis Predictions

It's back to business for US Open champion Emma Raducanu. No more celebrating and playing royalty, now it's time to build on that Grand Slam win. It's rare that a wild card is actually seeded but that's the case after her meteoric rise up the rankings. Raucanu is the 17th seed and takes on Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round at Indian Wells. The winner of this match takes on either 11th seeded Simona Halep or Maria Kostyuk in round three. Some bookmakers in the UK have Raducanu as the favourite to win this title which is totally ridiculous considering the strong field. The hope is that there won't be a reaction to her US Open title win. That's unlikely, despite all the celebrity behaviour in recent weeks, Raducanu is a highly talented player who will want to get on with the job. This is a Masters event and a good run here could yet see her get into the Tour Finals, something totally unthinkable a few months ago.

Looking to spoil her return is Aliaksandra Sasnovich who is ranked 100th in the world. If this match had been played five months ago, she'd have been ranked over 200 places higher than Raducanu. Now Sasnovich is 78 positions below her. The Belarusian has a career-high ranking of 30th achieved three years ago. At one stage this year she was down to 111th in the world. Three quarter finals have been reached this year by Sasnovich but in lower level events. To get to this clash with Raducanu, she beat Maria Camila Osorio Serrano for the loss of four games. Back Raducanu to win this and have a side bet on a straight sets win. We'd recommend that as the main bet but it's best to see how she plays in this return to the court. Whatever you do, don't take the ridiculously short odds on her to win this tournament.