Pick of the Day: Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur, WTA Finals

Jabeur looked overwhelmed in her loss to Coco Gauff, but the Tunisian is too big of an underdog in her follow-up.

Let's just say it: Ons Jabeur looked awful in her loss to Coco Gauff. The Tunisian only won a single game in that match. Meanwhile, Marketa Vondrousova was a bit more competitive in a 7-6 (3), 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek. Those two results make it easy to understand why the Czech is favored to beat Jabeur in their second round-robin match, but I happen to think the price is a little off. With that in mind, I like Jabeur to prevail—at plus-money odds.

Vondrousova has won three matches in a row against Jabeur, but I think the surface in Cancun give the Tunisian a shot at pulling this one out. The court they’re playing on in the WTA Finals was not ready until a few days before the event began, and the ball has been bouncing all over the place with no rhyme or reason. That makes me think that Jabeur can do a good job of getting under Vondrousova’s skin by mixing in some of her unique drop shots. Jabeur utilizes spin as well as anyone in the women’s game, so she should keep Vondrousova off balance—especially considering the Czech has been vocal about being uncomfortable on this court.

I also just think it’s a little wild to be getting strong plus-money odds on Jabeur in a matchup like this. Jabeur has had her fair share of disappointing performances this year, but a good argument can be made that she’s the best player outside the top tier in the women’s game. And Jabeur was once arguably a part of that elite group. So, to see her going off at these odds against a player like Vondrousova feels hard to turn down. The loss to Gauff was definitely a little concerning, but I think better days are ahead for the 29-year-old.