Elina Svitolina vs Marketa Vondrousova Odds & Prediction – Olympic Women’s Tennis Semifinals
- Elina Svitolina is a -150 favorite to defeat Marketa Vondrousova in the Olympic women’s singles semifinal match on Thursday, July 29
- Svitolina is rated #4 in the WTA world rankings
- Vondrousova upset second-ranked Naomi Osaka in third-round play
History will be made on the tennis court at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. None of the four women advancing to the semifinals – Elina Svitolina, Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic – have ever won gold.
One of them must win an Olympic gold medal. So far, both Svitolina and Vondrousova are staking a claim that it could be one of them.
Svitolina reached the quarterfinals at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, so she has the most significant Olympic resume of any member of this quartet. She defeated 2012 Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams in Rio.
She’s also been in two Grand Slam semifinals during her career. Vondrousova reached the French Open final in 2019.
Ukraine’s Svitolina is being established as the -150 favorite to win this match and move on to play for the gold medal.
Elina Svitolina vs Marketa Vondrousova Odds
| Player | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Svitolina | -150 | -1.5 (+145) | O 20.5 (-145) |
| Marketa Vondrousova | +120 | +1.5 (-240) | U 20.5 (+105) |
Odds as of July 28 at DraftKings
Thursday’s match is slated to get underway at 5:00 am ET.
Svitolina Searching for Wedding Present?
It’s doubtful that Svitolina listed an Olympic gold medal with her wedding registry. The Ukrainian star got married to French tennis player Gael Monfils just prior to arriving in Tokyo for the Olympic tournament.
World #6 Svitolina, the #4 seed in Tokyo, is the highest-ranked player remaining in the gold-medal hunt. She stopped Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. It was perhaps Svitolina’s best performance in the Olympic tournament. Svitolina required 90 minutes to send Giorgi packing.
Jumping ahead early in both sets, Svitolina went up 5-1 in the first set and 4-1 in the second set. She converted four break points.
Final four bound 🇺🇦
No.4 seed @ElinaSvitolina pushes past Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-4 to move into the medal rounds at #Tokyo2020#Tennis | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/e4FV83FD3c
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 28, 2021
In the third round, Svitolina needed to rally to overcome Greece’s Maria Sakkari. She beat the #14 seed, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The second round also saw her go the distance. Svitolina bounced back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. It was the same story in opening-round play. Svitolina was a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 winner over Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
Svitolina made the quarterfinals in Rio, losing to eventual bronze medalist Petra Kvitova. This is her third trip to a semifinal on a major stage. The 2019 season saw Svitolina reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Vondrousova Playing Giant Killer
That Vondrousova is in Tokyo at all is a bit of an upset. She was well down the Olympic list among players from the Czech Republic. Karolina Pliskova, Barbora Krejcikova, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Muchova all rated ahead of her. Vondrousova opted to use a protected ranking, going back to pre-pandemic wrist injury and subsequent surgery to claim Muchova’s spot on the team.
Vondrousova is making the most of her opportunity. She easily ousted host nation favorite and #2 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-1, 6-4 in third-round play.
Absolutely heartbreaking as Paula Badosa retires due to heat. Vondrousova is into the semis. pic.twitter.com/BNksT22RmZ
— . (@Ashish__TV) July 28, 2021
In the quarterfinals against Spain’s Paula Badosa, Vondrousova won the first set 6-3. Badosa then withdrew from the tournament. The Spaniard was taken away from courtside in a wheelchair, apparently overcome by the heat.
Vondrousova is through to the semifinals of an event for the first time since the Yarra Valley Classic in February. Her most recent final appearance was at Roland Garros in 2019.
Svitolina Holding Edge
This will be the fifth time that Svitolina and Vondrousova have met on court. The Ukrainian player was the winner in three of the previous four matches.
#Tokyo2020 tennis SFs are set 🎾 in women's singles. Love the clash of styles-
🇰🇿 Rybakina-Bencic 🇨🇭
🇺🇦 Svitolina-Vondrousova 🇨🇿Three of those women will win Olympic medals…
— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) July 28, 2021
Vondrousova won their previous meeting in the quarterfinals at Rome in 2020. Although Svitolina won the other three matches, one went the distance. In another match, Vondrousova retired with an injury in the third set.
Neither player has advanced beyond a semifinal this year, so something must give.
Elina Svitolina vs Marketa Vondrousova Stats
| 6 | WTA Ranking | 68 |
| 15 | WTA Titles | 1 |
| 18 | WTA Final Appearances | 4 |
| 27-13 | W-L (2021) | 18-12 |
| 64.6% | Service Games Won | 66.4% |
| 36.4% | Return Games Won | 31.4% |
| 52.1% | Break Points Saved | 55.3% |
| 118 | Aces | 128 |
Southpaw Vondrousova can present problems for opponents via her lefty forehand and her deft touch on the drop shot. Svitolina is the much quicker player and is known for her footwork.
Elina Svitolina, who was having a poor season, is one win away from an Olympic medal.
She beats Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in #Tokyo2020, awaits Badosa or Vondrousova tomorrow.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 28, 2021
She keeps a lot of balls in play. If Svitolina can keep Vondrousova on the run, it’s her match to win.
Pick: Elina Svitolina -150; Svitolina 2-1 (+255)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
