Tennis Betting Tips: Paolini to power through to last 16 in Cincinnati

We landed a 5.12/1 double in Monday's Tennis Betting Tips, as Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Taylor Townsend 2-0 (12/5) and Emma Raducanu won on the +4.5 game handicap against Aryna Sabalenka (4/5), although the Brit did fall to a 6-7, 6-4, 6-7 defeat.

In Tuesday's Tennis Betting Tips, which you can find below, I look to land another winner, with the Cincinnati Open remaining my focus of attention.

Set Betting - Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 2-0 vs Ashlyn Krueger (USA) @ 23/20

After reaching the semi-finals of the Miami Open in March, bowing out 6-2, 6-2 to World No. 1 and eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka, Jasmine Paolini returned to the hard courts in Montreal last month, but her time at the Canadian Open was cut short as she lost her first match, in the second round, to Aoi Ito (6-2, 5-7, 6-7).

The Italian found form in a tricky-looking second-round contest in Cincinnati on Sunday, though, beating Maria Sakkari 7-6, 7-6, before the 29-year-old and her doubles partner Sara Errani secured their spot in the last 16 with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova on Monday.

Paolini now turns her attention back to the singles, where Ashlyn Krueger lies in wait in the third round.

Krueger overcame World No. 269 Anastasija Sevastova (6-4, 0-6, 6-3) in the second round to set up Tuesday's tie with the World No. 9 Paolini.

That marked Krueger’s first hard-court success since March 22, when she beat Leylah Fernandez (6-1, 7-5) in the third round of the Miami Open before exiting the competition to Qinwen Zheng (2-6, 6-7).

Krueger has lost seven of her last 11 matches, and all four victories have been against players currently ranked outside the top 100. She has lost nine of her 10 meetings with top-10 players to date, and all nine defeats came in straight sets.

The 21-year-old didn't exactly inspire much confidence with her win over Sevastova on Sunday, either, as she was forced to three sets and was bagelled in the second.

Seven of Paolini's last nine wins have been in straight sets, and I expect her to make it eight from 10 on Tuesday.

Set Betting - Karolina Muchova (CZE) 2-0 vs Varvara Gracheva (FRA) @ 4/5

Staying with the women's singles, Karolina Muchova and Varvara Gracheva will face off on court for the first time in their careers on Tuesday, and it's the Czech who I am backing to emerge triumphant in straight sets.

Muchova beat another Frenchwoman, the soon-to-be-retired Caroline Garcia, in the second round, but was pushed to the edge in both sets, winning 7-6, 7-6.

She's now won 12 of her last 17 matches on hard courts, making the last 16 of the Canadian Open in Montreal earlier this month, where she was beaten 6-4, 3-6, 5-7 by World No. 6 Madison Keys; in fact, all five of those defeats since the start of February have been against players currently residing in the top 20.

Gracheva certainly isn't, as she is ranked 103 heading into Tuesday's encounter.

The 25-year-old had to come through two rounds of qualifying to reach the tournament proper, where she has edged out World No. 108 Katie Volynets (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) and World No. 29 Sofia Kenin (6-7, 6-3, 6-3). That latter victory will have raised Gracheva's confidence no end, but Kenin had lost five of her previous five matches and wasn't in the best of form, while World No. 14 Muchova should pose a much tougher test in the third round.

The 11th seed is on a nine-match win streak against players ranked outside the top 100, while Gracheva is 4-21 against top-20 opponents in her career, so on paper, this should be a straightforward victory for Muchova.

Of course, nothing is won on paper, but the logic is all there to back a straight-sets success for the Czech.

Match Betting - Clara Tauson (DEN) to beat Veronika Kudermetova (Wrl) @ 4/6

Later in the evening in Cincinnati (early hours Wednesday UK time), Clara Tauson takes on Veronika Kudermetova in the third round.

I've been really impressed with Tauson in this North American hard-court swing as, after a quarter-final exit in the Washington Open last month, she headed to Montreal for the Canadian Open, and was only denied a spot in the final by four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, who beat the Dane 6-2, 7-6.

The World No. 15 had won all four matches leading up to that loss in straight sets, notably knocking out World No. 3 Iga Swiatek (7-6, 6-3) in the last 16 and Keys (6-1, 6-4) in the quarter-finals.

Earlier in the year, the 22-year-old reached the last 16 of the Australian Open, only losing to World No. 1 Sabalenka (6-7, 4-6), and made it to the final of the Dubai Open, where she met her match in Mirra Andreeva (6-7, 1-6).

Tauson is 22-8 on hard courts this year, while her next opponent, Kudermetova, is 17-9 on the same surface in 2025.

World No. 28 Kudermetova only made it to the third round of this year's Canadian Open, though she did lose to World No. 2 Coco Gauff (6-4, 5-7, 2-6).

The 28-year-old has won both matches in Cincinnati in straight sets, though, beating Suzan Lamens (6-1, 6-3) and Belinda Bencic (6-4, 7-6) in the first and second round, respectively, but that victory over Bencic (World No. 19) was only her first top-20 success since May 9 at the Italian Open in Rome.

Tauson was taken to three sets by Alja Tomljanovic (6-3, 6-7, 6-4) on Sunday, and she could be in for another close contest against Kudermetova, but ultimately, I expect the Dane to pull through and reach the last 16.

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