2019 WTA Miami Open Odds: Serena Williams Listed as Favorite

• Serena Williams has won a record eight Miami Open titles
• Bianca Andreescu shocked the world last week by becoming the first wild card to win at Indian Wells
• Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova might offer better value on the betting lines than Williams

Sloane Stephens will look to defend her crown at the 2019 Miami Open. Her career really took off after that win last year. This year, Serena Williams enters as the favorite. Is she the best bet or will we see another surprise star at this WTA event?

2019 WTA Miami Open Odds

*Odds taken 03/18/19

Déjà Vu for Andreescu?

We’ll get to the Serena story but one can’t talk about women’s tennis right now without focusing in on Bianca Andreescu. The Canadian teenager shocked the world last week, becoming the first-ever wild card winner in tournament history at Indian Wells. She became the youngest to win this event since Serena did it in 1999.

CHAMPION! ?

Bianca Andreescu wins the #BNPParibasOpen, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 over Angelique Kerber. Unbelievable.#BiancaRising? #BiancaRisen. pic.twitter.com/YS9kIGFY0o

— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) March 17, 2019

She entered seeded No. 60 but slayed a number of dragons along the way, including Dominika Cibulkova, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina and Angelique Kerber. She has the tools to be a superstar, so she can’t be overlooked at any point. She’s shockingly at just +1400 after being on nobody’s radar prior to Indian Wells.

Miami Open Past 5 Winners

Williams Recovered from Illness?

Williams was actually looking really crisp at Indian Wells, smoking Victoria Azarenka in the second round before having to retire with a viral illness in the third round. This came just over a week ago and from what has been reported, she’s over it.

One of my favorite moments of all time, when Serena Williams won her 22nd Grand Slam pic.twitter.com/nziKwSNFq4

— Mpumelelo Ngwenya. (@_Mpumz) March 17, 2019

For the most part, Williams has played well at this event. Recently, she’s stumbled, losing in the first round last year, being absent in 2017 and losing in the fourth round in 2016. However, she had won three straight years before that and she considers this her home with a record eight titles here.

Williams was just 9-5 on the hard courts last year and is 5-2 so far.

My concern here is that she was just 9-5 on the hard courts last year and is 5-2 so far. It feels like we’re paying a little bit for the brand name here, so I’m not that excited to invest. She’s in a tough draw, with two other former No. 1 players, as well as Johanna Konta, who smoked her 6-1, 6-0 in San Jose last year. I’ll pass at this price.

Osaka a Better Bet

Osaka’s price has dropped a little since she exited early at Indian Wells. However, don’t put too much stock into that as she lost to Belinda Bencic, who has been playing really well lately. Osaka seems to have an easy draw as she should face Su-Wei Hsieh, who she beat in Australia in the second round before meeting Garbine Muguruza or Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.

.@Naomi_Osaka_ ‘s U.S. Open victory made her the first Japanese player to ever win a Grand Slam tournament — #Japan is quietly laying the groundwork for much more success in the sport as Osaka’s win influences a nation of young wannabe ?stars. #OZYShorts pic.twitter.com/q5FjDhDKPV

— OZY (@ozy) March 18, 2019

Petra Kvitova is the Pick

Keep in mind that women’s tennis handicapping is as tough as it gets these days. As we saw last week, players can come out of literally nowhere and make a big splash.

ACE ? from @Petra_Kvitova.#BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/KAXHE78wuc

— Panther (@Panther24Tweets) March 9, 2019

This will be the last hard court tournament for Kvitova right now and I’m expecting her to show up in a big way.  This is a new tournament site this year and the ball should play faster than Indian Wells, which should benefit Kvitova. At +1400, I’ll take a flier with her and possible place a small bet on Osaka as well as I see one of those two winning in Miami.