WTA Miami Open Round 1 Odds, Picks & Upsets – March 23

• The WTA Miami Open gets underway with Round 1 play starting March 23rd
• In the early rounds, the potential for an upset is high
• See below for odds for all first-round matchups and our top best bet predictions

The first round of the Miami Open begins Tuesday, with start times still being determined. In a large tournament like this, we have huge potential for early-round upsets.

Almost all the best players are competing in Miami this week. Naomi Osaka looks to be the one to beat in this tournament, as she enters the week as the second seed and the strong favorite.

Take a look below for all the first-round match odds, as well as a preview of three with our predictions.

WTA Miami Open Round 1 Odds – March 23

Odds as of March 22 from DraftKings

Alize Cornet vs Svetlana Kuznetsova Prediction

Svetlana Kuznetsova enters this match as the slight favorite. These two are no stranger to one another, as this will be the seventh matchup of their careers. Their current head-to-head is split evenly at 3-3.

Their first meeting dates back to 2008 in Rome, with their most recent match happening in 2017 during the round 32 in Wuhan. Alize Cornet won this match in straight sets.

This match is interesting because neither player has had a fantastic start to 2021. Kuznetsova started the year with two opening-round exits in her first three tournaments. She’s slowly starting to show improvements though as she advanced to the semifinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy last week, but was defeated by Daria Kasatkina. She has won in Miami back in 2006, and was a finalist in 2016, but is coming off a second-round exit at her most recent appearance at this tournament.

Cornet herself hasn’t had the strongest start to 2021, but when tennis came back last year, she was competitive. She made her way to the third round of the Cincinnati Open, and the fourth round of the US Open in 2020.

Her four wins in her last ten matches are far from impressive, but recently she beat Kasatkina at the Dubai Open, before going on to lose to Aryna Sabalenka.

Best Bet: Cornet (+133)

Magna Linette vs Robin Montgomery Prediction

World No. 50 Magda Linette will take on 16-year old wild card Robin Montgomery in the first round of the tournament. On paper Linette is the favorite, but it’s possible the young up and comer can come in and upset.

Linette is just starting to come back after missing the first few months of the year due to a knee injury. This first-round match will actually be her first match of 2021.

She didn’t have the best end to 2020, which included a three-match losing streak at the Strasbourg Open, French Open and WTA Linz.

Doesn't really matter in a limited-fan scenario, but: my kingdom for Mladenovic-Collins at night.

Also: a really good R1 draw for 16-yo WC Robin Montgomery (bidding for her first WTA MD win) in a stacked field. Linette has not played yet in 2021 thanks to a knee injury. https://t.co/TJQMrZx1uY

— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) March 21, 2021

This will be Montgomery’s second main draw match. She was defeated as a wildcard at the US Open in straight sets to Yulia Putintseva. She also lost in her debut as a qualifier at the Cincinnati Masters to Sorana Cirstea but is starting to prove that she’s a part of the next generation with a deep run into the finals in the ITF at Claremont in November.

Montgomery is gaining more confidence with each match she plays, and she will be going up against a player who hasn’t played in five months since the Ostrava Open in October.

Bet Bet: Montgomery (+114); 2-0 (+250)

Andrea Petkovic vs Shuai Zhang Prediction

This will be the fifth matchup between Andrea Petkovic and Shuai Zhang in their careers. Their most recent match was during the round of 16 at the Guangzhou Open in 2019. Zhang won in straight sets.

Prior to that meeting, Petkovic had won the other meetings. Petkovic leads their career head-to-head 3-1.

Currently ranked World No. 107, Petkovic was once No. 9 in the world. She’s fallen outside the top 100, due to a recent injury. The German is attempting a comeback after a knee injury kept her out of the game for nine months.

In 2021, Petkovic has participated in three tournaments but is currently on a three-match losing streak that she’ll look to end against Zhang.

Zhang on the other hand, has only played one match all year. She participated in the Australian Open, where she lost against Ann Li in the first round. She did have herself a decent 2020, with a 16-11 record.

But just based on not having more than one match under her belt in 2021, Petkovic looks to be the better bet here.

Best Bet: Petkovic (-105); 2-0 (+215)