Cinderella will be playing tennis at Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris on Saturday.
World No. 114 Maja Chwalinska will take on No. 8 Mirra Andreeva in the Women’s Final of the French Open, which gets underway at 9 a.m. ET (3 p.m. local time) on Saturday.
The bookmakers are picking against Chwalinksa’s fairytale having a happy ending, as Andreeva is a prohibitive -400 favorite in the final.
French Open: Andreeva vs. Chwalinska odds, prediction
Chwalinksa’s story is so gripping that it is completely overshadowing the moment for Andreeva, who is looking to capture her first Grand Slam just weeks after turning 19 years old.
Despite her age, Andreeva’s rise has been steady, as the Russian already has five WTA titles and has made it to two semifinals and four quarterfinals at majors.
Her ability to dominate from the baseline has vaulted her into the top 10 and has turned Andreeva into one of the best clay-court players on the WTA.
She has won 21 of her last 24 matches on the dirt, and her only defeats on the surface came against Coco Gauff, Marta Kostyuk and Elena Rybakina.
Andreeva avenged her defeat to Kotsyuk in the semifinals, ending the Ukrainian’s 17-match winning streak in a rout. Andreeva dispatched Kotsyuk, 6-1, 6-3, in just 77 minutes.
Chwalinska will represent a very different challenge for Andreeva.
After playing through the dangerous Kotsyuk, Andreeva will need to be more measured against the Pole. Chwalinska is a southpaw, and she makes up for her lack of power with craft and shot variety.
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In a vacuum, Andreeva’s talent should be enough to overwhelm the underdog in this match, but there are some variables at play here.
The teenager is a massive favorite and will need to deal with that pressure in her first Final, and she’ll need to do it against an unpredictable opponent playing with house money and the entire tennis community rooting for her.
There’s also the weather. There are some serious winds predicted, so if the roof stays open, as expected, this could be a tricky endeavor for Andreeva.
The Play: Mirra Andreeva to win 2-1 (+300, FanDuel)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
