WTA Birmingham Classic Odds and Picks: Barty Favored to Win

• The Birmingham Class is the first premier-level event of the grass season
• The Birmingham draw features five of the top 10 ranked players
• 2017 and 2018 winner Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the tournament

The Birmingham Classic, also known as the Nature Valley Classic, is the first Premier-level event of the grass season, and seen as a warmup tournament for Wimbledon. Let’s take a look at the latest odds:

*Odds taken 6/16/19

Historic Stacked Draw

The 2019 Nature Valley Classic draw has the top three players in the WTA tucked inside it, which is going to setup a pretty amazing week of tennis in Birmingham.

Too many good first-rounders at Birmingham (Nature Valley Classic, @the_LTA), including Osaka-Sakkari and Barty-Vekic. Full draw below. pic.twitter.com/pf8SNKANyN

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) June 15, 2019

World no. 1 Naomi Osaka drew Maria Sakkari of Greece in the first round, and despite being ranked first she’s behind Ashleigh Barty with +600 odds to win the tournament. World no.2 Ashleigh Barty is set to face Donna Vekic and no. 3 Karolina Pliskova will play Mihaela Buzarnescu.

This is the first time in tournament history that the WTA’s top three players have been in the field.

World No. 1 Up for Grabs

Many tennis insiders are saying that no.1 will be up for grabs in this tournament as Ashleigh Barty will enter Birmingham this week just 252 points behind Naomi Osaka in the WTA rankings. But if Osaka wins her opening match against Sakkari, Barty will have to win the entire tournament to take no.1.

Barty is coming off a dominant performance that led her to win the French Open, and despite this being a different surface (the Nature Valley Classic is on grass), the way she has been playing has given her the best odds to win the tournament at +450.

Home Crowd Performance

Johanna Konta will definitely be a talking point this tournament. She will be playing in front of a home crowd in Britain, and has a good clay court season under her belt, something that hasn’t always happened in the past. Historically, Konta has performed well in front of her home crowd, and her new coach, Dimitri Zacialoff, has allowed her to hone in on her craft and keep her level-headed.

Johanna Konta's been handed a tough draw for the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.

Ideal Wimbledon preparation?

More: https://t.co/grEt3CvSh5 pic.twitter.com/lbuWGYs75R

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 15, 2019

2019 Birmingham Classic Picks

Going into the tournament, it’s tough not to take Barty to win it all. Her last couple months of play indicate that she is playing some of the best tennis of her career at only 23-years old. With Naomi Osaka unfortunately battling injuries earlier in the year, it gave the opportunity for some players to break through. But she seems to be fully recovered now. With that, Osaka becomes a massive threat.

1 year ago, No.18 @Naomi_Osaka_ and No.17 @ashbar96 faced off in the 2018 Nottingham semifinals.

Next week, the World No.1 and No.2 will battle it out for the top spot in a historic Birmingham draw.

Read: https://t.co/IZurstTj1z pic.twitter.com/7bRYWXFUg5

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) June 15, 2019

These two have faced each other three times: 2014 Acapulco, 2018 Australian Open, and 2018 Nottingham Classic. Barty has taken two of the three matches, in straight sets, including the Nottingham Classic on grass this time last year. For those factors and the way Barty has been playing recently, it seems that she has what it takes to win and go into Wimbledon with her confidence at an all-time high.

Pick: Ashleigh Barty (+450)