2019 Zhengzhou Open Final Odds and Pick
- Karolina Pliskova making her fifth finals appearance on the WTA tour this year
- Petra Martic seeking second career title
- Who is the best bet to win in the Zhengzhou Open in China?
No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova and No. 7 seed Petra Martic square off in the final of the 2019 ICBC Credit Card Zhengzhou Open on Sunday (September 14, 2am ET).
Both players had straight-set victories in their semi-final matches with Pliskova dispatching of unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic,6-3,6-2 and Martic steamrolling Kristina Mladenovic, 6-0, 6-3.
Martic vs Pliskova Zhengzhou Open Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petra Martic | +3 (-102) | +170 | +22 (-106) |
| Karolina Pliskova | -3 (-118) | -195 | -22 (-114) |
*Odds taken 14/09/19.
Martic Trying to Break Through in China
Martic will be playing her first career final on Chinese soil. Her previous-best results in China have been quarterfinal showings at the 2018 Tianjin Open and the 2011 Guangzhou Open.
First Premier final for Petra Martic, nr 15 in Race!!! What a year !!! So happy for her!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/mkWDJo6be2
— Laura.N (@Nicolle2270) September 14, 2019
This will also be Martic’s first career final in a WTA Premier-level event and she is seeking her second career victory. Earlier this year, she won the Istanbul Cup, a smaller WTA tournament.
Pliskova Not a Stranger to WTA Finals Matches
Pliskova will play in her fifth final of the season, her first since winning the Eastbourne International in June. She is going for her fourth overall victory in 2019 and will try to win her 15th career singles title on the WTA.
Pliskova has lost both of her previous finals on mainland Chinese soil, falling 7-5, 7-6(6) to Venus Williams in Zhuhai in 2015 and 7-6(7), 6-3 to Caroline Garcia in Tianjin last year.
Martic vs Pliskova Statistical Comparison
| 27-13 | 2019 Record | 45-13 |
| 1 | 2019 Singles Titles | 3 |
| 4 | Head-To-Head Record | 1 |
| 3 | Sets Lost at 2019 Zhengzhou Open | 3 |
| 1 | Seeded Players Defeated at 2019 Zhengzhou Open | 1 |
The Croatian owns a 4-1 career head-to-head edge over Pliskova of the Czech Republic, the No. 2 ranked player in the world. However, all of Martic’s four wins against the top seed have come on a clay or grass surface.
In their only previous meeting on a hard court earlier this year at the Miami Open, Pliskova won 6-3, 6-4. The two last played against each other at this year’s French Open, with Martic winning 6-3 6-3 at Roland Garros.
Who’s the Best Bet?
Leading up to this tournament, both players lost in the fourth round at the US Open in New York, with Pliskova dropping a close three set match to Joanna Konta of Great Britain and Martic losing to eventual US Open finalist Serena Williams.
Karolina Pliskova vs Ajla Tomljanovic | 2019 Zhengzhou Semifinal ??@WTA Highlights μέσω του χρήστη @YouTube ✅
?https://t.co/NqWpuTYp6p https://t.co/BNnKfLxw4l— Antwnis Selekos (@ASelekos) September 14, 2019
Although the favourite to win is Pliskova, the 6’1″ power hitter tends to go for broke on groundstrokes leading to inconsistent tendencies. In her semi-final match, the serve was working quite well against Alja Tomljanovic, with the Czech winning 92 % of first service points.
Before the start of the tournament, Pliskova was picked as one of the favourites (+400), along with Elina Svitolina.
The 27-year-old seems to do quite well in WTA Premier-level events. If Pliskova prevails on Sunday, she will have won more titles than anybody else on the WTA Tour in 2019.
Petra Martic earns @ZhengzhouOpen Shot of the Day status for this incredible effort in her quarterfinal victory ? pic.twitter.com/balZsZnXoh
— WTA (@WTA) September 13, 2019
However, Martic, currently ranked no. 23 in the world has confidence playing against Pliskova. Since coming back from an extended injury break, Martic is flourishing in her best season yet and her first-ever quarterfinal appearance at the French Open pushed her to a career-high ranking of no. 20 in the world.
Karolina Pliskova really is the tours greatest vulture, she preys on easy kills and easy draw doing exactly that this week. She is never a threat a majors though, the worst number 1 of all time IMO. #ZhengzhouOpen
— wtaaddict (@wtaaddict) September 14, 2019
A victory at Zhengzhou would be the biggest of Martic’s career and should serve as motivation. Still, the 28-year-old has shown a bit of an inclination to fade when presented with big opportunities which showed in her quarterfinal French Open match against Marketa Vondrousova.
It’s a tough call for Sunday’s championship given how well both women played in their semi-final matches. Based on recent performances, game style and match up, the slight edge is given to the underdog, Martic.
An experienced sports journalist, Martha K has written feature stories for CBC and Yahoo Sports, hosted Sauga 960 AM, worked with ESPN production and covered a variety of major events, including the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. She is a former Division 1 tennis athlete.
