WTA China Open Semifinals Odds & Pick: Barty vs. Bertens
- World no. 1 Ashleigh Barty will face no. 8 seed Kiki Bertens in the semifinals of the China Open
- Barty came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 against Petra Kvitova last round
- Kiki Bertens defeated No. 3 seed Elina Svitolina 7-6(6), 6-2 in her quarterfinal match
The first semifinal matchup of the China Open sees Ashleigh Barty take on Kiki Bertens on Saturday October 5 at 2:30 AM ET.
This will be the fifth time the two have seen each other, dating back to 2014, and Barty has yet to taste defeat. The world #1, who’s China Open odds started at +1000, is a sizable -250 favorite to make it five straight against Bertens.
2019 China Open Semifinals Odds: Barty vs Bertens
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashleigh Barty | -4.0 (even) | -250 | O 21.0 (-125) |
| Kiki Bertens | -4.0 (-130) | +200 | U 21.0 (-105) |
*Odds taken 10/4/19
Barty’s Road to the Semi’s
In the quarterfinals, Barty faced Petra Kvitova for the sixth time. Prior to her quarterfinal win, the Aussie had only won once against Kvitova. After struggling in the first set, she rebounded to win a three-set thriller.
? @kikibertens glides through second set against Svitolina, 7-6(6), 6-2, to advance to the semi-finals at the @ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/11SBiWsek6
— wta (@WTA) October 4, 2019
Barty had nine aces in the match, leading to her winning 63% of her service points. On top of that, the Australian won 13 of 15 service games plus three return games to ultimately record a win.
Bertens Road to the Semi’s
Beating world #3 Elina Svitolina in straight sets, Kiki Bertens should be brimming with confidence going into the semifinals. Bertens’ serve was right where she wanted it, as she won 67% of her service points, and 90% of her service games (9/10), while winning three return games as well.
?? @kikibertens inches ahead of Svitolina to win tiebreak, 7-6(6)@ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/iStXcINsvl
— wta (@WTA) October 4, 2019
Throughout the tournament, Bertens has only dropped one set. And with her quarter finals win, she improves to 4-2 against Top Five players during the 2019 season.
“I think I stepped up my game today.” – Kiki Bertens
Bertens defeated Svitolina in an hour and 48 minutes, and will be looking for her third singles title of the year as she continues on at the China Open.
Head to Head
The two players have seen each other four times before, with Barty winning all four matches. The most recent match-up was earlier this year in Miami. Barty ended up winning in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Barty vs Bertens H2H
| 4 | Wins | 0 |
| 1 | Rank | 8 |
| 28-7 | 2019 hard-court record | 18-13 |
Bertens is coming off a nice upset win, which will give her confidence, but Barty is a force to be reckoned with when she gets going. And her style has proven to be a terrible matchup for Bertens.
Barty slices the ball a lot, gets heavy on the forehand, and comes into the net a lot during a match. Bertens has yet to prove she can handle Barty’s aggressive approach.
Who’s the Better Bet?
Both Barty and Bertens are playing exceptional tennis right now, and both are coming off of strong wins in this tournament as well.
But the way that Barty came back in her quarterfinal match after going down a set shows the type of player she is right now.
The fact that the two players have seen each other before, and Barty has been dominant in those match-ups, weighs heavily in the forecast. It would be one thing if the two had only seen each other once before, but four match-ups is a pretty big sample size, especially with two of those matchups coming in the past year.
Pick: Barty (-250)
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.
