SkySports tennis commentator James Buttler looks at Saturday's women's final action and picks his best bets as Jasmine Paolini plays Barbora Krejcikova.
THERE'LL BE A NEW NAME ON THE LADIES WIMBLEDON TROPHY
It’s the Women's Final at Wimbledon on Saturday. After two three-set semi-final thrillers.. we've got Jasmine Paolini taking on Barbora Krejcikova - Italy against the Czech Republic.
Jasmine Paolini has lit up Wimbledon. She's a diminutive figure but she's got the biggest smile in SW19. The crowds absolutely love her, and she picked up a singles title on the WTA tour in Dubai earlier this year, which is just outside of the Grand Slams in terms of significance.
She has got plenty of confidence after reaching the French Open final a few weeks ago and the fight she's shown all season was very evident when she took the semi-final against Donna Vekic. I don't think Paolini played at her best, but she's got a great chance on Saturday.
Barbora Krejcikova has had a pretty poor 2024 until the grass came around. The one difference between her and Paolini is she has got a Grand Slam title to her name. She won at Roland Garros, the French Open in 2021. She played superb tennis to beat Rybakina, who was my pick to lift the trophy, in the semi-final. That was a huge scalp for her.
A NERVY FINAL?
I think the final might start a little bit nervy. It's a huge opportunity and it may come down to who settles first.
In my head though it's a little bit Brexit-like. 52% of me thinks Paolini wins and 48% thinks Krejcikova wins. I can't really call it, but the betting markets would suggest that Krejcikova is the favourite. She's ¾ and Paolini is 6/5 and purely on that basis I’m taking the value on Paolini at 6/5.
I think the final goes the distance. A three-set match is 11/10. We could easily get a see-saw final which could be really dramatic. It’s been a superb Wimbledon for both of these players.
There is a market to win the first set and win the match, but I don't like that. In the semi-finals both Krejcikova and Paolini came from behind, but I think one thing is for sure it's going to be nip and tuck. It could go the distance and therefore I'm also going to play over 24.5 games in the match at 13/10.
It's Paolini for me but that is a toss of a coin. However you bet on the final, and you don't have to follow my tips, we've had a lot of success on the Women's Wimbledon. Let's just hope the final is an absolute cracker.
Good luck to Barbora and to Jasmine. Enjoy Wimbledon on Saturday and I'll be back ahead of Sunday's men's final as Novak takes on Carlos in a repeat of last year's final.
Gamble responsibly everybody.
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