World No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova is one of the rising stars of women’s tennis. The Russian has reached the semifinals in each of the last two Grand Slam tournaments. But that impressive streak could be in some peril as she takes on clay court specialist Teliana Pereira in the French Open second round. Read on below as we preview this potential upset in Paris.
Meanwhile, check out the second round assignments for the top men’s seeds with our previews of Nadal vs. Almagro and Murray vs. Sousa.
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Teliana Pereira vs. Ekaterina Makarova Betting Preview
Brazilian qualifier Teliana Pereira made short work of French teenager Fiona Ferro, 6-3, 6-2, in their first round French Open matchup on Sunday. Pereira’s service game was sublime, as she sent 84 percent of her first serves in play and won 72 percent of those first serve points. She also won half of the return points and broke her opponent five times in five attempts.
[sc:Other240banner ]The World No. 76 is almost exclusively a clay court specialist, and she’s having a pretty good season to date on dirt. She’s 7-2 (all on clay) in the WTA Tour main draw this season, and claimed her first ever tournament win last April in Bogota, Colombia. She’s also been very active in the non-WTA events, going an impressive 18-4.
Pereira reached the second round of last year’s French Open, the furthest she’s advanced in any Grand Slam. She stands a significant chance of repeating that feat this season as she takes on Ekaterina Makarova. Pereira can take advantage of her expertise on clay against the Russian, who has been historically mediocre on the surface.
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Betting on Ekaterina Makarova
World No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova swept past 19-year old American Louisa Chirico with an easy 6-4, 6-2 win in round one. Despite her inability to convert her break points more efficiently (she went 5-of-17) Makarova had a superior serve (66 percent first serves in to 50 percent) and committed fewer unforced errors (32 to 20) than her teenage opponent.
Makarova will now look to accomplish something she’s yet to do this season: move on to a third match in a clay court tournament. Makarova crashed out in the round of 16 in Charleston and the Rome Masters, and failed to escape the round of 64 at the Madrid Masters.
The Russian rising star has reached at least the quarterfinals in four of the last six Grand Slams she’s entered, including the semifinals of both the US Open and the Australian Open. But both of those tournaments are on hard court, her surface of specialty.
Makarova has actually won the French Open before, but as a doubles player. She’s had a much more checkered run in the dirt courts of Roland Garros as a singles player. Her best showing was a fourth-round finish in 2011, and she reached the third round last year. But her other five appearances have ended in either the first or second round.
Writer’s Prediction
Pereira (+140) pulls off the shocker as she shows her class on clay and outlasts Makarova in three tough sets.
