Heather Watson and Yulia Putintseva will play against each other in the first round of the Hua Hin Open. The match will start on January 31 at 05:00.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (-4) for Putintseva – 1.72.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Games Over 20 – 1.85.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – 2nd Set Games Over 8.5 – 1.59.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #4 – Sets Scoring: 2>1 – 2.23.
The representative of Kazakhstan has an advantage in head-to-head encounters. Yulia will be comfortable playing against an opponent who does not have a powerful serve. Overall, Putintseva has been more convincing at the start of the season. We think she will advance to the second round of this pairing today.
All head-to-head encounters between the two players have ended without an exchange of sets, but have been tightly fought out. We expect at least 20 games today.
Watson is currently ranked 140th in the WTA rankings. Previously she was in the top 40.
The Briton started the season at the ITF tournament in Canberra. Heather reached the quarter-finals, where she lost to Katie Boulter (1-6, 3-6).
Before that, she defeated Kateryna Baindl (6-4, 6-1) and Yuriko Miyazaki (6-0, 6-3), only giving up eight games in total.
At the Australian Open, Watson failed to qualify. In the first round of qualifying, she lost to Aliona Bolsova (6-7, 3-6).
Watson’s greatest achievement last year was reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Heather Watson has lost 15 of her last 16 matches as an underdog.
Putintseva played her first matches of the new season at the United Cup. Yulia lost to Belinda Bencic (6-7, 3-6) and Iga Swiatek (1-6, 3-6).
After that, the tennis player from Kazakhstan made a successful performance in the tournament in Hobart, where she reached the quarter-finals.
Putintseva defeated the American Claire Liu (6-2, 6-4) and Nuria Parrizas-Diaz (6-2, 6-4). She was stopped in the 1/4 final by Anna Blinkova (3-6, 4-6).
At the Australian Open, Putintseva had a strong first-round showing against Sorana Cirstea (2-6, 6-4, 6-3) but lost in the next round to Karolina Pliskova (0-6, 5-7).
Yulia Putintseva has won five of her last six matches at tournaments in Asia.
Type of Court – Hard
Speed of Court – 7/10
Heather Watson’s Rating – 140
Heather Watson Wins/Losses in 2023 – 2/2
Yulia Putintseva’s Rating – 47
Yulia Putintseva Wins/Losses in 2023 – ¾
In the three head-to-head matches, more than 9.5 games have been played in the second set. We offer to bet on “2nd Set Games Over 8.5” with odds of 1.59.
In each of the three head-to-head encounters, more games were played in the second set. We offer to bet on “Sets Scoring: 2>1” with odds of 2.23.
Yulia Putintseva leads with a score of 2-1 in the head-to-head encounters. The last time they met was at the Australian Open in 2018. In that match, Yulia Putintseva defeated Heather Watson (7-5, 7-6) in two sets.
The match will be played in Center Court, True Arena Hua Hin, Hua Hin, Thailand.
We recommend checking out the odds for the 2023 Hua Hin Open: Heather Watson vs Yulia Putintseva at 1xBet and VBET.