Rybakina vs Samsonova: bet on the favourite?
In the first round of Montreal tournament Elena Rybakina will play against Liudmila Samsonova on August 9. Will favourite experience some problems in this match? The answer is in our prediction.

Command Analysis

Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina was extremely close to a medal at the Olympic Games. Kazakhstani player was beaten in a contested semi-final match by Belinda Bencic (6:7, 6:4, 3:6). Then blew the lead in the match for a bronze medal against Elina Svitolina (6:1, 6:7, 4:6).
After that failure Rybakina played two matches at San Jose tournament in the previous week. In the first one she beat Liu in three sets (2:6, 6:0, 6:2). Then she was beaten by Collins, losing on two tiebreaks (6:7, 6:7). Overall, Elena is in a decent form, she gained some match practice on hard, so she is ready to put up a successful performance in North America.

Liudmila Samsonova

22-year old Liudmila Samsonova had a peak of her form in June and in the beginning of July. Russian player won a title of Berlin tournament on the grass and reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon. After those successful results she rose to the 54th position in the WTA standings.
After that Samsonova had a long break. She had an attempt in Palermo, but in the first round she was beaten by an obscure Chinese player Zheng Qinwen (3:6, 2:6). Obviously, Liudmila doesn't have enough experience to know how to remain consistent during a long period of time.
Trends
СтавкаSecond set: total under 9.5
Nine most recent matches of Samsonova ended with a total under 9.5 games in the second set

СтавкаTiebreak: yes
In three out of last four matches of Rybakina tiebreaks were played

Tip and bets
In our opinion, it is obvious that Samsonova's peak form is over, so we shouldn't expect a success from her, especially since it is a tournament on hard surface, not on the grass. In the first round Liudmila will face a strong opponent, Elena Rybakina, who put up a respectable performance at the Olympic Games and was close to a medal. Kazakhstani player already had two matches on hard surface at San Jose, so she is in a decent form, unlike her opponent. We are expecting a confident victory from the favourite.
Our prediction - Rybakina to win with a handicap of (-4) games
Rybakina is in a decent form, while Samsonova lacks match practice. We are expecting a victory in straight sets from the favourite.
Our second bet is on total under 21 games