Tennis Betting Tips: Pegula flying the flag for America

It’s women’s semi-finals day on Thursday at the US Open and the home faithful will be in full voice as they cheer on two of their finest American talents. Coco Gauff was crowned champion in front of her home crowd at last season’s US Open and Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro will both be hoping that they can follow in her footsteps by claiming their maiden Grand Slam title. 

Pegula is favourite to dismiss Karolina Muchova following her quarter-final victory over world number one Iga Swiatek, but Navarro has things a little tougher and is a big outsider for her semi-final showdown with second seed Aryna Sabalenka. 

Tennis Odds

Emma Navarro +1.5 on the set handicap v Aryna Sabalenka @ 11/10 

Sabalenka was beaten by Gauff in last season’s US Open final and she will be determined to go one better this year in New York. 

The Belarusian second seed is on a ten-match winning streak, courtesy of her title win in Cincinnati prior to the final Grand Slam of the season, and she has dropped only one set across her five US Open assignments. 

However, home-court advantage can be a big aid for American players and in Navarro she faces an up-and-coming talent operating at the peak of her powers. 

Sabalenka struggled to block out the noise in last season’s title decider with home favourite Gauff and she could find herself in a similar scenario against Navarro. 

The American has dumped out defending champion Gauff and overcome the rejuvenated Paula Badosa in the last two rounds and she triumphed 6-3 3-6 6-2 in her only previous hard-court encounter with Sabalenka at Indian Wells in March.  

That suggests Navarro warrants a little more respect for this last-four rumble and she looks a big price to at least get a set on the board. 

Jessica Pegula to win 2-1 v Karolina Muchova @ 11/4 

With neither player having dropped a set on their way to the semi-finals, something has to give, but Pegula has navigated the tougher passage and will have a vocal home crowd on her side. 

That gives her the edge and her latest two wins over rising star Diana Shnaider and top seed Swiatek highlight how well she is performing. In fact, Pegula’s only defeat in her last 15 matches came in the final in Cincinnati against Sabalenka. 

The American mastered Muchova during that period, beating her 5-7 6-4 6-2 in Cincinnati last month, and a repeat three-set victory is where the value may lie. 

Muchova is featuring in her second consecutive US Open semi-final but she was beaten by Gauff last season and may fall victim to another American in Pegula. 

Offers

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