WTA Pilot Pen Quarters Preview – Petrova vs. Stosur

New Haven, CT, USA – Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur are set to collide in the quarters of the WTA Pilot Pen Tennis tournament today. A spot in the semis of this last tune-up event before the US Open is on the line.

BetOnline Sportsbook is taking action on the WTA Pilot Pen tournament this week. Here is the breakdown of the tennis betting action currently available, complete with tennis free picks.

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Tennis Betting Line:

Nadia Petrova  -130   21½  O -135   U -105  
Samantha Stosur     -110     21½  O -135   U -105   

First Set Line: Nadia Petrova   -130        Samantha Stosur     -110 

Match Time: 03:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00 Noon Pacific Time) Thursday August 26, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Russian Nadia Petrova takes a comfortable 3-0 lifetime edge over Samantha Stosur into their quarterfinal clash; however, the pair has not met since 2008.

A lot has changed for both players since then.  Namely, Stosur has ascended the rankings and become a more complete singles player. She broke into the top ten this season on the back of a runner-up finish at the French Open.

The 26-year-old Aussie currently weighs in at No.6 in the world and at a glance, her season stands at an enviable 38-12 mark with one title.

Since her disheartening defeat at the French Open to Schiavone, Stosur has played to a modest 6-4 mark, highlighted by a semi-final appearance at Stanford and a quarterfinal appearance at San Diego. Stosur skipped both Cincinnati and Montreal chosing to deposit her US Open tune-up in New Haven.

Petrova has had a mixed season but that is nothing new where she is concerned. Typically, she oscillates on form, pushing deep into a tournament at times and falling in the early goings at other times.

Most recently, she has been trending negatively. Ahead of New Haven, she played to a 1-3 mark during the US Open Series highlighted by first round exits in San Diego and Cincinnati and a second round exit in Montreal.

In New Haven, she seems to have found form as she reaches her first quarterfinal since the French Open (May).
In spite of the many question marks surrounding Petrova she is a solid top 20 player and she is tagged the marginal favourite in this match at -130. In my mind, she is the better play to win outright. In her case, she puts paid on preceding negative trends regularly.

Stosur can’t be underestimated of course by virtue of her ranking but I am not certain she is the better bet. This is not to say she can’t win. Certainly, she can but I don’t believe her self-belief is as unshakeable as it was at the start of the season and if she is to win big matches such as this one is, her confidence needs to be unflappable.

Tennis Free Picks: Petrova in three sets