CHARLESTON OPEN: The WTA Charleston Open kicks off in South Carolina on Monday, with the world’s best players competing for the $900,000 prize fund.
Belinda Bencic – Reigning champion
Belinda Bencic won last year’s tournament after a hard-fought battle with Ons Jabeur in a final that saw her edge to the title in the third set 6-4.
Since then, she has comfortably been one of the best players in the world – winning seven titles overall in her career and has already claimed two so far in 2023, winning in Adelaide and at the Abu Dhabi Open in February. Bencic also had a good Australian Open, winning her first three rounds before losing to the eventual victor Aryna Sabalenka.
While Bencic is well deserving of her WTA rank of nine, she has hit a dip in form in recent weeks only winning two of her last six. Regardless of her recent performances, she will be a threat at this tournament and will take extra confidence from her win here last year.
We don’t envisage her winning the tournament again, but she could certainly push into the later rounds and quite possibly a final – her recent performances are telling for us and make her one to consider but not to back with all your resources.
Jessica Pegula – Home favourite
Jessica Pegula is BETDAQ’s favourite to triumph here and based on her current form, there aren’t many other players in South Carolina better prepared for the start of the clay season.
Though Pegula recently lost to Elena Rybakina in the semi-final of the Miami Open, she looked to be one of the favourites and played one of the best tournaments of any of the top ten in attendance. She won the first three games in straight sets and looked to have found the winning rhythm, so we are backing to her to get over the disappointment and rediscover her momentum, getting back to winning ways in her home country
Sometimes it takes disappointment to spur an athlete on and that is our prediction here for the world number three and highest seed.
Ons Jabeur – The challenger
We sense Ons Jabeur will have a good tournament here. She is one of those players you keep an eye on and are always surprised when she loses and hits a poor vein of form. Her quality cannot be doubted; she has mastered every shot in the book and carries a physicality and fitness that can dominate almost every player on the tour.
The only factor that could bring her down is her consistency and unexpected crashes, but we feel her recent string of up and down results could end here with the Tunisian exploding into her best level.
She has edged out almost all of the players attending before and certainly has the longevity to last a whole tournament, making it to the final of the US Open last year.
We predict Jabuer to give the other favourites a run for their money and we maintain that she will hit good form on the clay where her physical prowess will really show – she is one to strongly consider for the victory here.
Victoria Azarenka – The dark horse
While we don’t believe Victoria Azarenka will turn up and dominate her opponents from the get-go, her run at the Australian Open that saw her reach the semi-final highlights her ability to beat the best and win under pressure.
Due to the profile of this tournament and the amount of top ten players attending, it will have the feel of a major and a much more important event. Circumstances like these can often benefit the underdog who goes in with less mounting on their shoulders and while Azarenka is one of the best in the world, she won’t be expected to win here.
All of this creates the perfect storm for an underdog story and reveals the dark horse who we are backing to make an impact in South Carolina – we would even go as far to say that considering her for the victory here would be a wise choice.
Keep an eye out for Azarenka; she knows how to win and has another one close the horizon. The question is, will it be here?
