WTA Indian Wells 2009 Final

Vera Zvonareva and Ana Ivanovic play in the 2009 Final of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells.

I am upset that in the semis I didn't place any bets on these two players as I favored both reaching the final.

Vera Zvonareva played against Azarenka in the semis, while Ivanovic had Pavlyuchenkova as an opponent in the semis.

My pick for this match is Zvonareva, and here are some of my reasons.

First of all, I don't consider Ivanovic, such a good player. As far as her tennis skills go I would rate them as above average. She is the type of player that when put under pressure, most of  the times will crack. If she has an opponent that can serve well, and put most of the balls back in play, than Ivanovic has a problem.

Let's take a look at the matches Ivanovic player so far. The first match, was against A. Yakimova (6-4 6-3), a simple match against a mediocre player. The second match was another simple one, against G. Dulko, and I would have been surprised if she failed to win that one. Her third match in this tournament was the only one in which Ivanovic has had any type of competition. But as most of you know, Pennetta currently isn't in the great form she was at the ending of last year, but still managed to take a set from Ivanovic. In the quarter final S. Bammer had to withdraw, and in the semi-final, Pavlyuchenkova couldn't have created any sort of problems as he lacks the experiece. So far, looking at these matches, I have to state the fact that Ivanovic has not yet been tested during this tournament, and that could be a problem for her, as Zvonareva's game could come as a surprise for Ivanovic.

On the other side, Zvonareva's last 3 matches have been against top players like N. Li , C. Wozniacki and V. Azareanka. She won all of those matches in straight sets. The last match is the one I want to relate to the most, because Azarenka, has a similar style of play to Ivanovic.

The serve and forehand are the main weapons of both Azarenka and Ivanovic, but the way Zvonareva managed to break them down with Azareanka, I'm sure she will be able to do the same with Ivanovic. And also, take in consideration the fact that Azarenka was in a much better form than Ivanovic is.

The head to head between the 2 players is 4-3 for Ivanovic, so this would be the perfect time to make is 4-4.

Expekt offers 1.70 for a Zvonareva win, and I consider that to be a generous offer.Other bookmakers offer something around 1.6 or even 1.5.

Anything over 1.65 represents value in my opinion.Medium stake for me.