[koscheckbaby]

Petkovic and Sharapova both seem capable of winning or losing tomorrow. They both have monster forehands, but are also UE machines at times. Sharapova probably is the better player, but she's not in as good of form.

As good as Azarenka has been on clay, Li holds a decisive h2h record against her. So, is it worth it to lay the juice on a player that doesn't fare well against her opponent?

[EaglesPhan36]

That head-2-head doesn't really mean much between Li-Azarenka. None have been on clay. Both are solid on the surface, but Azarenka had been the better player this Spring/Summer on this surface. There's always the questions about her mental makeup though that stick in your mind. Kind of the same things that used to be said about Zvonareva [without the retirement history of Azarenka] until she broke through at Wimbledon last year and now is a pretty consistent Slam Semifinals/Finals threat. I think this is Azarenka's chance to shake that label of someone who cracks under presssure. Whether she does or not is the question.

I like Sharapova over Petkovic. Petko was shaky yesterday. Nerves & experience I think are big at this stage. There is a difference to me in playing someone in a QF vs. playing them say in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round. You're CLOSE to a semifinal and possible title shot. Nerves can get huge for first timers or less experienced players. Petko showed those again Li Na at the Aussie Open in the QFs. Maybe she learned from that, we'll see.

[koscheckbaby]

The thing is the likely winners are the favorites and still have question marks on them. Sharapova hasn't been that good, dropping a set to a Junior and barely beating Radwanska, who is an easy matchup. Azarenka has those question marks surrounding her and is giving up H2H. I don't care if none of them were on clay, it does count for something. Are either Sharapova or Azarenka worth laying the juice? They are playing good opponents.

[EaglesPhan36]

No WTA player for the most part is worth laying anything over -200 on. My personal cutoff is much lower than that for single plays. Parlay them if you like them enough. Easiest way to go broke quick is betting larger favorites in WTA.

[koscheckbaby]

Lol. WTA is where bettors become psychos that need to go to GA. I will tell you though, I've had decent luck with the ladies. Gladly, and thankfully, I avoided the Kvitova-Li match yesterday. But the heavy female plays I've made this year were Li over Woz at AO, Li over Mattek-Sands, Kvitova over Li in Madrid, Woz over Radwanska and Petkovic at Stuttgart, and Petkovic over Kirilenko in Rome. I have taken losses on Woz against Georges and Hantuchova, but they were smaller than the wins.

If you were to lean just one of Sharapova or Azarenka, where would you lean? I don't really think much of Li's game, but she has been winning. But I THINK Azarenka on form on clay will win easily. Petkovic is not a fluke. She has some hitting ability, although she can make a ton of errors. Just hate betting on Sharapova with her double faults and unforced errors.

[EaglesPhan36]

Well I picked both to get to the semis and Azarenka to win it. I had the Sharapova-Petkovic as an actual match-up, so I liked that ahead of time apparently. I think experience-wise, I'd feel more comfortable on Sharapova over Petkovic. I believe Azarenka will win, but Li's late Slam experience from Australia is something to consider over Azarenka who has never made a semi.

[JNic]

I think Petkovic has a big chance of winning this but I agree with you guys on Azarenka here, I think Azarenka is gonna win in straights

[koscheckbaby]

Petkovic can play some really insane tennis when on her game. I'd hate to bet against her. Sharapova doesn't exactly seem to play that well defensively, so Petkovic can make her uncomfortable. Of course, I think Sharapova is the bigger hitter, better server, and has the experience, so I favor her. But Petkovic winning wouldn't shock me

[AsianPlaya]

I have to go with Petkovic and Azarenka.If you watched how these girls played and compared them to Sharapova's and Li's,you'll realize that they have an advantage. Azarenka is in the best form ever ( aggressive and well positioned volleys) while Li has struggled on the early rounds .
With regards with Sharapova and Petkovic,Petkovic beat out good players (Gadjosova,Kirilenko,Jovanovski,Hradecka ) while Sharapova struggled with less talented players (except Radwanska).Also you can see that Petkovic is very powerful with his volleys. However,I think Azarenka will win this Slam.

[Greekster]

Took Azarenka -3.5 and Petkovic +3.5