• marius
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There is no doubt Shahar Peer is a very good tennis player, she is always hanging around the top 20 spot and is a constant threat to the best tennis players on the tour. This season she had a bit more success on clay, but at the beginning of the year she also had one final and two semifinals on hard, so it`s clear she is a good all-rounder, able to play on all surfaces and having all of her shots developed in the same way. Last year she was knocked out by Kuznetsova in the 3rd round of USO, while this year she had 2 easy matches against out of form Kostanic and Parmentier, but still she struggled quite a bit on both occasions, especially against the Croat, even though the final score might not be showing it.

Wants to do well

Similarly to her today`s rival, Flavia Pennetta is also good at all surfaces and this year she lost two finals, one on each of the surfaces, and even won one title on clay. She played 4 tournaments at this year`s 2nd part of the North-American tour, losing only to top 10 players, after some very tough matches. Otherwise, she was always totally comfortable and won almost all other matches in straight sets. She is usually very good on her own serve, and holds those games quite well, while on the returns she is always very aggressive and her shots are really powerful. She won both of her matches at this USO in two easy sets, despite being 2 games down in the 2nd against Szavay. Once she steps it up, it`s really hard to defend against her.

Peer has nothing to hope for here

Shahar Peer is actually ranked 2 places better than Flavia Pennetta in the rankings but many times I`ve said that the WTA list isn`t always the best indicator of quality as the women are very prone to ups and downs, and thus we can never use that as the main measurement of real quality. Currently, Pennetta is a huge favorite to win this match. I don`t see how can Peer break her with her current game, and even though it`s true Shahar is improving and is close to that top 10 level, the class difference is much bigger right now in Pennetta`s favor, who is almost superb on hard. Pennetta usually finishes these kinds of matches quickly, and I see her stepping up a notch this time and not allowing too many opportunities to Peer during the entire course of the match, which should all result in her easy win. The odds are much better than I expected and that`s why I am going on that with high stakes. Good luck.

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Prediction:

Tip: 0:2
Odd: 2.10
Bookie: Expekt