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Horse Racing Lin Zhu vs Julia Grabher Tennis in the Land Preview and Expert Tip: Back the Better Hard Courter in Cleveland
Lin Zhu vs Julia Grabher (Tennis in the Land): Tuesday, August 22nd
Well that was a tough loss. Mirra Andreeva needed all of 19 minutes to take the first set from Tamara Korpatsch 6-0. From there, she struggled mightily, especially on return against the light-hitting German. She needed a close third set to get through, ensuring the under lost.
Tuesday’s WTA preview for Tennis in the Land from Cleveland looks at Lin Zhu vs Julia Grabher.
In this article:
Lin Zhu vs Julia Grabher Expert Tip
It’s quite a surprise to see Grabher into the second round in Cleveland, considering the fact that her tennis isn’t exactly well suited to hard courts.
With a heavier forehand that’s generally hit with topspin, and a game that tends to benefit from having more time to square up her shots from the baseline, Grabher can be rushed on the quicker courts.
With Zhu much more comfortable on hard courts and her flatter-hitting style perfectly suited to taking that time away from Grabher, I’ll back her to cover the game handicap.
Read on for more expert insights.
- Expert Tip: Zhu -4 games at 1.85 with Pinnacle, using 2/10 stakes.
Lin Zhu Recent Form
It’s been a tough summer for the 29-year-old, who has had some tough draws in her last few events.
From a resurgent Anhelina Kalinina, to big servers like Karolina Pliskova and the in-form Yanina Wickmayer, Zhu has struggled for wins in recent weeks.
This week, however, she managed to beat Anna Blinkova in dominant fashion and now gets a clay-court specialist, who has just a handful of wins on hard courts all season.
Zhu has a strong baseline game with decent pop from both wings and hits a flat ball that tends to skid through the courts and stay nice and low.
It allows Zhu to dictate points without the raw power one would typically use to maintain control.
Julia Grabher Recent Form
The Austrian’s form in the opening round against Xiyu Wang was probably as strong as she’s played on the surface all season.
Even with that win, however, she’s still lost more matches on hard courts in 2023 than she’s won.
Her game should be able to adapt to hard courts, but much like we saw in altitude on her preferred clay earlier this season, her forehand can misfire with regularity when it’s rushed in quicker conditions.
If Grabher can find a way to become more accustomed to how quickly the ball comes at her on hard courts, she should become a more reliable and consistent player on the surface.
For now, she’s still relatively uncomfortable away from her higher-bouncing clay courts that afford her more time to set up her shots.
Lin Zhu vs Julia Grabher H2H – Stat of the Match
The only meeting between these two came in Tampico, Mexico on slower hard courts than we find in Cleveland.
That match went three sets, but Zhu still managed to win it by a five-game margin.
In conditions that should suit the Chinese pro a bit more than the last time around, I’d expect her to fare at least as well as she did in that one.
Statistically, it’s the Grabher second serve that I think could cost her.
Without much pace and with spin that doesn’t translate as well on hard courts, those second deliveries tend to sit up and allow opponents to seize control of the exchange.
We’ve seen Grabher lose over 50% of those points more often than not this season. If she can’t hit her spots with precision, she could find herself on the back foot quickly against Zhu when she’s forced to hit her second serves.
Odds as at 4:50 am UK Time on August 22nd, 2023. Odds may now differ.
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