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Horse Racing Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua Abierto Tampico Expert Tip: Surging American to Continue Push for the Top-100
Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua (Abierto Tampico): Tuesday, October 24th
Late start to Monday’s preview means the result wasn’t known at the time of writing.
Tuesday’s WTA preview will once again come from the Abierto Tampico in Mexico. Let’s look at Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua.
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In this article:
- Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua Expert Tip
- Emina Bektas Recent Form
- Renata Zarazua Recent Form
- Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua H2H Stat of the Match
- Gamble Responsibly
Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua Expert Tip
It’s good to see Zarazua having the best year of her career on the professional circuit to this point (and I’ll talk about why in a minute), but I don’t think she’s quite at the level of Bektas just yet.
She does have a few wins that are certainly impressive, but against players that are in the top-100 or have the talent to be in the top-100, the 26-year-old still loses more often than not.
In a world where we evaluate odds and probabilities, that to me means she shouldn’t be a huge underdog as she has the ability to win, but being more likely to lose this match than win it, she should at least be a pretty standard underdog.
We’re simply not seeing that here, so I’ll go ahead and back the American at a price that my numbers deem to be too cheap to pass on.
Odds as at 1:30 am UK Time on October 24th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
Read on for more expert insights.
Emina Bektas Recent Form
Talk about being a late bloomer. At 30 years young, the American is knocking on the door of the top-100 for the very first time.
It makes sense as well, since she’s shot up my power ratings after having watched her a few times during the grass season and then on hard courts after that.
I considered her to be a player that was more likely making the jump to WTA 250 events thanks to her smart scheduling and playing in regions with typically weak fields, allowing her to pick up points easily and earn a ranking that probably didn’t match her actual talent level.
That opinion has changed in a big way in recent months.
I’m a fan of her compact service motion that helps not only disguise the pace on her first deliveries, but also means it takes less time for her serves to get to her opponent, thereby stealing some time from them.
Her flat groundstrokes also have sneaky pace and with less air under the ball and spin on the ball, it’s another way she can take time away from her opponents and keep them on the back foot.
With a strong week in Tampico, not only does the American break into the top-100, but she’d actually be close to doubling her highest career win total in a season. I actually think 2024 could see her push her way into the top-75 in January, as she’ll have the chance to play the Australian summer and gain direct entry to the Australian Open, where her game should be fairly potent.
Her point defences in January? A pair of ITF semifinals. The chance will certainly be there for her.
Renata Zarazua Recent Form
Zarazua is also having the best year of her professional career, with 49 wins in 2023.
Since August, we’ve seen the Mexican No. 1 win an ITF tournament in Lexington and reach another final in Templeton.
Wins over Iryna Shymanovich, Katie Volynets (though the American avenged that loss last week) and Caroline Dolehide are all somewhat impressive. They don’t change the fact that Zarazua still has a ways to go in developing her baseline game if she wants to be a serious threat to break into the top-100 in the rankings herself.
She’s solid from the baseline, but could use a bit more pop from the ground. Her forehand can dial up the pace on occasion, but it also tends to get erratic when she tries to hit it harder.
The first serve is where the most improvement has come for her in 2023. It has allowed her to find more cheap points, which helps make her serve less vulnerable.
It’s still not a weapon and doesn’t set her apart from the field, but at the very least, it’s no longer a liability.
Emina Bektas vs Renata Zarazua H2H – Stat of the Match
No prior meetings between these two, but this is probably the best time to see how they stack up against one another.
It may not be a marquee matchup, but with both playing the best tennis of their careers in 2023 and racking up wins, this one could certainly be a fun contest.
SAFER GAMBLING
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