Serena Williams is back, and he announced his return with a loud victory in the first round, though it did not come without some scary moments for the American. Now, Williams will face Kurumi Nara, who is eyeing to become the first person since the 2014 French Open to oust Williams from a Grand Slam tournament before the third round. Heading into the match, the sportsbook favors Williams with -1400 odds, compared to Nara’s +750. Read on for a deeper breakdown.
Williams started slow in her first round match against Vitalia Diatchenko, but once she found her rhythm, there was nothing her opponent could do to stop her. Williams sent Diatchenko packing for an early exit from Roland Garros after a 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 win. Williams can be forgiven a bit for her slow start, as she had not much preparation prior to the 2019 French Open, largely because of injuries. Based on her play in the final two sets of the Diatchenko match, though, those injuries seem to be a thing of the past now, and that’s not a good news for Nara. Against Diatchenko, Williams had nine aces to zero by her opponent. She put 60 percent of her first serves in and had 25 winners. Although Diatchenko had more time serving the ball, Williams got 11 break points, converting five of them. Warmed up and looking healthy, Williams could be in a much finer form against Nara this Thursday.
Betting on the Kurumi Nara (+750)
Nara is going to the second round, thanks to a hard-earned 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win over Dalila Jakupovic. Nara managed to put 74 percent of his first serves in and won points on 47 percent off of them. However, Kurumi allowed Jakupovic to have 21 break point chances, which was surprising since the Japanese had the advantage in first serve opportunities, 134-118. Nara can’t let that kind of carelessness show up that frequently again, especially against Williams, who knows how to capitalize on the shakiness of her opponents. Nara seems to like moving all over the court when she’s on the attack, as she went 8-for-16 on net points won against Jakupovic. Knowing Williams isn’t as mobile as she used to be, the younger Nara might take a chance at being aggressive early to set the tone of the match against the legendary American.
