Ashleigh Barty vs Angelique Kerber Odds & Prediction – WTA Western & Southern Open Semifinals
By Hayley Graham in Tennis
Published:
- Ashleigh Barty and Angelique Kerber will go head-to-head in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday
- This will be the sixth meeting between the two players
- Continue below for odds and our best bet analysis
We’re down to the final four in Cincinnati as we approach the end of the Western & Southern Open. In a rematch of this year’s Wimbledon semifinal, Barty and Kerber will go head-to-head once again. This time Kerber will look to avenge that straight set semifinal loss just a few months ago.
Barty, the No. 1 seed, and World No.1 is heading into this match the favorite, and that shouldn’t be a surprise. Kerber earned her spot here in the semi’s after her opponent, Petra Kvitova retired from the match due to health issues.
Take a look at the odds below and how each player made it to the semifinals.
Ashleigh Barty vs Angelique Kerber Western & Southern Open Semifinals Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| [1] Ashleigh Barty | -1.5 (-125) | -330 | TBD |
| Angelique Kerber | +1.5 (-145) | +250 | TBD |
Odds as of August 20th at DraftKings
Barty Continues to Dominate
The 25-year old Australian continues to show us why she’s No. 1 in the world, with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Barbora Krejcikova to earn a spot in her consecutive final four here in Cincy. In just over an hour, Barty found herself recovering from being down 2-4 in the second set, and has now extended her season record to 38-7.
Barty struggled a bit on her serve, only recorded a 52 first serve percentage, but it was enough to outlast her opponent. Her seven aces helped secure the win.
No.1 Ashleigh Barty advances to her 6th SF of the season after a 62 64 win over Barbora Krejcikova. Faces Kerber or Kvitova.
Barty now 14-1 vs. Top 20 opponents in 2021, 7-1 vs. Top 10. Only loss came to then-No.7 Sabalenka in the Madrid final. #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/WsJUb1zh1i
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 20, 2021
There was a point where Krejcikova looked to possibly have the win, but Barty always has just that little bit more that she can bring out to stun her opponents. And she did just that.
The Aussie will now enter the semifinals having yet to drop a set over her three matches played here.
Kerber Eases into the Semifinals
The 33-year old found herself a spot in the semifinals when her opponent, Kvitova ended up retiring from the match due to health issues. Kvitova retired at 3-3 in the second set, with Kerber having taken the first set. This was the 16th time the two had played each other, and was a heck of a match.
The first set was all serves, as both players were hitting their spots, and firing off strong aces.
As an unseeded player in the tournament, Kerber has played an extra match than her semifinal opponent, but has seen two of the four matches go the distance.
Angelique Kerber advances to the semis 6-4, 3-3 ret. as Kvitova is forced to retire.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/I1JPYVMQ0C
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 20, 2021
After Kerber captured that first set, it was Kvitova who came out strong in the second, racking up a 3-0 lead. But Kerber was able to claw back to make it 3-3, and that’s when Kvitova’s health issues just got too hard to deal with.
So the German will now look to the semifinals where she’ll be taking on arguably the best female player in tennis right now. Does she have enough to earn a spot in the finals?
Head-to-Head
No stranger to each other, Barty and Kerber have played each other a total of five times over the course of the past five year. Barty does hold the head-to-head edge with the 3-2 record, and won their last two meetings, which includes their most recent meeting at Wimbledon where Barty won 6-3, 7-6(3).
Ashleigh Barty vs Angelique Kerber Stats
| 1 | WTA Standing | 22 |
| 25 | Age | 33 |
| 12 | Career Titles | 13 |
| 287/101 | Career W/L | 649/347 |
| 4 | YTD Titles | 1 |
| 35/7 | YTD W/L | 19/11 |
| 3 | Head-to-Head Wins | 2 |
Best Bet
Barty speaks very highly of Kerber, and vice versa. They’re both well aware of what the other is capable of doing on the tennis court.
Kerber saw her season do a complete 180 during the grass court season just a few months ago. She had a 9-10 record heading into it in June, but has been 14-1 since.
Neither player having a dominant head-to-head record against the other tells us that this will be a pretty well balanced match. Barty has been consistently playing on another level for some time now, but Kerber herself is never that far off from her best match, and Barty is well aware.
Regardless of the outcome, and who earns their way into the finals, this is a match that will most likely go the distance, as both players have been playing some of their better tennis recently. But look for Barty to earn her a spot in the final
Best Bet: Barry 2-1 (+220)
Sports Writer
A graduate of Sport Media at Ryerson University, Hayley is the ultimate student of sports. Whether she is playing it, watching it, debating it, or writing it, it's safe to assume sport consumes the majority of her life. She has worked both internationally and with the NBA.
