6th February 2012

Goerges vs Peer Betting: Julia Goerges can start her campaign with a relatively straightforward victory

I have already back Julia Goerges outright in Paris, but Pinnacle are offering a nice handicap line for her first round match, so I am willing to back her once again. She played great tennis in the Fed Cup over the weekend and even Petra Kvitova had big problems against here. In fact, Julia Goerges was very close to a victory against the Czech number one. Traveling from Germany to France is not a big deal and the surface in Paris is pretty similar to the one in Stuttgart, so she should be relatively fit and ready for her first match (she usually does well indoors anyway). But this bet is not all about her.

In my opinion, Shahar Peer is currently one of the most overrated players on the WTA tour. Her ranking looks solid, but she is not playing well at the moment and her recent results clearly show that. For example, she lost to Elena Baltacha and Michelle Larcher de Brito in the Fed Cup - and both are levels below Goerges in terms of quality. Peer is talented and she will probably bounce back at some point in her career, but this match should be well beyond her current capabilities.

For that reason, I think that Goerges will record a rather straightforward victory today. This handicap is not that huge and she has already covered it against Shahar Peer in 2011 (6-2 6-3 on a reasonably quick surface in Charleston) - and Peer was a better player back then. It is really hard to see Goerges losing today and I definitely fancy her to win with something to spare. Normal stakes are recommended, especially if you have already backed the outright as well.

Back Julia Goerges (-4) to beat Shahar Peer for a 2/10 stake at 1.93 with Pinnacle

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