Enough of those close calls. Two-time champion Serena Williams destroyed Sara Errani in just over an hour to advance to the semifinals of the 2015 French Open. There she will meet surprise package Timea Bacsinszky who booked a place in the final four with a straight-sets win over Alison Van Uytvanck.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this blockbuster matchup. You can also check our preview of the other women’s semifinal between Ana Ivanovic and Lucie Safarova here.
[sc:TennisArticles ]Serena Williams vs. Timea Bacsinszky Betting Preview
Where: Roland Garros, Paris
When: Thursday, June 4, 10:30 AM ET
Line: Serena Williams (-600) vs. Timea Bacsinszky (+400) – view all French Open lines
Betting on Serena Williams
Serena Williams’ quest for a third French Open crown is still very much alive after an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 win against Sara Errani in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The top seed needed just 65 minutes to overcome her Italian counterpart as she booked a place in the semifinals at Roland Garros for the fourth time in her career.
[sc:Other240banner ]It was a dominant display from Williams who hit a whopping 39 winners as opposed to Errani’s nine. Prior to her match against Errani, Williams was averaging just 32.5 winners per contest in this tournament. Key to Williams’ resounding win as well was her tremendous serve. She blasted 10 aces on Wednesday, her best output thus far in that department in this year’s event.
Up next for Williams is a semifinal clash with Timea Bacsinszky. The 33-year-old has fared extremely well in her past meetings with Bacsinszky, winning both of their previous two matches. One of those meetings came on clay at the Rome Masters back in 2010 with Williams winning that one in straight sets, 7-6 (2), 6-1. For Williams to extend her dominance against Bacsinszky, she needs to continue her excellent return play. She won 56% of her receiving points against Errani with Williams converting five of her eight break point opportunities.
The one thing going in Williams’ favor heading into this match is her vast experience on the slow surface. She is 67-4 in her last 71 matches on clay. Bacsinszky, on the other hand, has never won a clay-court tournament in her career.
Williams is 8-2 in her last 10 matches.
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Betting on Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky reached her first ever Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over unseeded Alison Van Uytvanck. With the win, Bacsinszky became the first Swiss woman since Martina Hingis in 2001 to reach the last four at Roland Garros.
Things are bound to get tougher for Bacsinszky, though, as standing in her way in the semifinals is world No. 1 Serena Williams. She has faced the American twice before, losing both matches in straight sets. Those matches weren’t incredibly one-sided, though, with Bacsinszky losing 7-6, 6-1 at Rome in 2010 and then 7-5, 6-3 at Indian Wells earlier this year.
For Bacsinszky to record the massive upset, she needs to make the most of her first serve. Although Bacsinszky put into play 76% of her first serves against Van Uytvanck, she only managed to win 63% of those points. That simply won’t do against a world-class player like Williams who won 30 of her 54 receiving points against Errani.
Aside from her serve, Bacsinszky also needs to improve on her return. She only won 46% of her receiving points against Van Uytvanck, converting just four of 14 break point chances. Opportunities like that will be few and far between against a powerful hitter like Williams so Bacsinszky has to pounce when those chances arise.
Bacsinszky also needs to continue her highly-efficient play if she wants to shock Williams. In this tournament, Bacsinszky is averaging just 20.4 unforced errors per match. That’s a far cry from Williams who’s averaging 31.2 errors in her five matches here. If the Swiss star can force Williams to some early miscues in their match, who knows? A major upset might be in the cards today.
Bacsinszky is 7-3 in her last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams (-600) crushes Bacsinszky in straight sets.
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