Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic Odds & Prediction – Olympic Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals

• With world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty out early, this quarter of the Olympic women’s event is wide open
• Belinda Bencic beat two in-form players to reach the quarterfinals against Pavlyuchenkova
• The Russian is the favorite on paper; we look at how Bencic’s Swiss momentum may carry her

It’s likely most people didn’t look past world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty as the likely winner out of the top quarter of the draw.

The Wimbledon champion was right behind Naomi Osaka as a favorite to take the gold medal.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic Odds

Odds as of July 27 at DraftKings

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova stood at +4000 when the pre-tournament odds came out. Belinda Bencic wasn’t even in the top 20, despite being the No. 9 seed.

Expect the Unexpected at the Olympics

The complexion of the tournament changed as Barty went out in the first round at the hands of relentless Spanish defender Sara Sorribes Tormo.

And now, the winner of the match between Pavlyuchenkova and Bencic will be in the semifinals – and thus have two shots at a medal.

Pavlyuchenkova was 25 when she made her Olympic debut in Rio. Seeded No. 14, she was upset in the second round by Monica Puig, the Puerto Rican who ended up going all the way to the gold medal as a huge underdog.

There’s been a bit of a vibe from Bencic that she might pull a Puig in Tokyo, even though as the No. 9 seed she’s not the same type of long shot.

If the 24-year-old Swiss was disappointed that she couldn’t team up with Roger Federer for mixed doubles (after Federer withdrew), she’s making up for it with runs in both singles and doubles.

Bencic Beats Pegula and No. 8 Krejcikova

Bencic lost in the second round at the French Open, and in the first round at Wimbledon to the unheralded Kaja Juvan of Slovenia. So there weren’t necessarily hints she was ready to seize the day in Tokyo.

But her straight-sets opening win over American Jessica Pegula, who has been a tough out all season and whose best surface is hard courts, sent a message.

On Tuesday, Bencic overcame a 1-6 first set to defeat the most in-form player over the spring and summer, No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova.

Krejcikova not only won the French Open, she didn’t drop a set in winning a WTA tournament in Prague – on a hard court – the week before the Olympics.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic Head-to-Head

Pavlyuchenkova Maximizing her Opportunity

In Tokyo, Pavlyuchenkova has taken advantage of a truly welcoming draw and rolled over all comers.

R1: d. Errani 6-0 6-1
R2: d. Friedsam 6-1 6-1
R3: d. Sorribes Tormo 6-1 6-3@NastiaPav is a woman on a mission at #Tokyo2020, reaching the quarter-finals for the loss of just *seven* games 💅#Tennis | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/2YoYcmcW8N

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 27, 2021

Sara Errani and Anna-Lena Friedsam, both ranked outside the top 100, were late additions to the women’s singles draw.

Sorribes Tormo, conquerer of Barty, didn’t have much fight left on Tuesday.

So, unlike Bencic, it’s hard to precisely gauge Pavlyuchenkova’s form. She hasn’t been tested.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic Match History

Bencic Leads the Head-to-Head

Bencic is 4-2 overall against the Russian; they are 2-2 on hard courts.

The last three hard-court matches have been involved comebacks for the winner. So it would be no surprise to see it go the distance.

The weather has been brutal on the players in Tokyo. And Pavlyuchenkova has spent far less time on court. But Bencic has proven in the past that her energy level rarely flags during a tournament. She’s also six years younger.

Even though Pavlyuchenkova is the slight favorite, we like Bencic in this one.

She’s at +340 to win in three sets, and at +675 to pull off a victory after losing the first set.

Best Bet: Bencic in three sets (+340)