Belinda Bencic vs Elena Rybakina Odds & Prediction – Chicago Fall Tennis Classic Quarterfinals
By Stephanie Myles in Tennis
Published:
- No. 3 seed Belinda Bencic meets No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina in the Chicago Fall Classic quarterfinals
- The match will be the fourth and final singles match, at approximately 3:30 pm ET.
- Read on for our analysis of the clash, and best bets
The top half of the Chicago Fall Classic singles draw ended up going absolutely according to form, with the four highest seeds making it to the quarterfinals.
Beyond No. 3 Belinda Bencic vs. No. 5 Elena Rybakina, the other match in that half pits No. 1 seed Elina Svitolina against No. 6 Ons Jabeur.
The bottom half opened up considerably more. So it’s likely the tournament’s champion will come out of that top half.
Belinda Bencic vs Elena Rybakina Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| [3] Belinda Bencic (SUI) | -1.5 (-125) | +100 | O 21.5 (-120) |
| [5] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) | +1.5 (-110) | -125 | U 21.5 (-120) |
Odds as of Sept. 30 at Bet365
Bencic With Routine Win Over Martincova
After a bye in the first round of this 56-player draw, Bencic had a very amenable opening-round opponent in qualifier Maddison Inglis, ranked No. 130.
But the Swiss star had spent the weeks since the US Open in Europe, playing a pair of tournaments indoors. So there were going to be a few hiccups coming back over to North America, dealing with jet lag and getting used to the outdoor conditions again.
But after that first-set loss against Inglis, she dropped just two games in the next two sets.
Against unseeded Tereza Martincova in the third round Wednesday, it got complicated again. Bencic didn’t serve particularly well, with a first-serve percentage barely over 50 percent and eight double faults.
🇨🇭 @BelindaBencic seals her #ChicagoTennisFestival quarterfinal place in style 👊 pic.twitter.com/8LUGYx3Je8
— wta (@WTA) September 30, 2021
And the second set was a mess. Bencic had to save three set points at love-40 and 5-6. She led a lead in the tiebreak slip away as well.
A little salty, she was assessed a code violation for language, and also gave her racquet a solid crack on the court.
The only reason it wasn’t significantly more complicated for her was because Martincova was visibly hampered by a leg injury that made it difficult to stretch out to the right.
Bencic will have to clean that up considerably against Rybakina.
Belinda Bencic vs Elena Rybakina Head-to-Head
| 26 (Aug. 27, 1994) | Age | 22 (June 17, 1999) |
| Flawil, Switzerland | Birthplace | Moscow, Russia |
| 5-9 | Height | 6-0 |
| 4 | Career WTA Singles Titles | 2 |
| 0 | Career Grand Slam Titles | 0 |
| No. 4 (Feb. 17, 2020) | Career High Ranking | No. 16 (Sept. 20, 2021) |
| No. 12 | Current Ranking | No. 17 |
| $9,287,371 | Career Prize Money | $2,575,078 |
| 34-18 | 2021 Won/Loss record | 32-19 |
| 1 | Career Head to Head | 0 |
Rybakina Quietly Rounding Into Form
If there’s a player whose momentum was completely quashed by the pandemic stoppage in 2020, it was the 22-year-old from Kazakhstan via Moscow.
She was at a career-high No. 17 before tennis stopped for five months, having cut her ranking in more than half since the start of the year. But then, a holding pattern – at best – until this year’s French Open.
Rybakina did well on the grass, too. And 10 days ago, she finally surpassed that pre-pandemic high.
She has won two close matches – but both in straight sets – against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and No. 12 seed Veronika Kudermetova to earn the meeting with Bencic.
Both she and Kudermetova served a lot of aces. But both served poorly overall. The difference-maker for Rybakina was the plentiful break points.
Elena Rybakina before RG in 2021: 8-9 (.471) overall, 1 QF, 3 first round losses, 2-4 vs. Top 50 opponents
Elena Rybakina since: 22-10 (.688), 5 QFs or better in 10 total events, 8-9 vs. Top 50, 4-5 vs. Top 20
Why? Her 1st serve win % has jumped from 66.6% (21st) to 74.9% (2nd)
— Alex Gruskin (@AlGruskin) September 23, 2021
She saved 7-of-10 on her own serve. And she converted 4-of-7 on Rybakina’s serve.
Rybakina won nearly 80 percent of her first-serve points. And that has been by far the biggest factor in her return to her best ranking over the last four months.
Against Bencic, she’ll have to pick up her first-serve percentage a fair bit and keep that success rate up. Because that is her biggest weapon against an opponent who defends a lot better and is far more mobile.
Belinda Bencic vs Elena Rybakina Match History
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Olympics (SF) | Outdoor Hard | 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 | Bencic |
An Epic Encounter in Tokyo
As confident as Rybakina might be going into Friday’s match, it is bound to bring back some of the toughest memories of her young tennis career.
The loss to Bencic in the semifinals was devastating enough. But in the bronze-medal match the next day, Rybakina lost another heartbreaker.
She was well up against Elina Svitolina – 4-1 in the deciding set – only to lose five straight games, and the medal.
Bencic is going to remember all of that as well.
Best Bet: Rybakina in three sets (+333)
Sports Writer
Stephanie gets the straight dope from the tennis insiders. On court, she has represented her country internationally. A BA in journalism led to years on the MLB beat and a decade covering tennis globally. She's written for Postmedia, the Guardian, the New York Times and also publishes OpenCourt.ca.
