Can Wozniacki Avoid A Cornet Upset?

Caroline Wozniacki will take on Alize Cornet in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Championships at 16:30 this afternoon. Dane Wozniacki is a former winner of the tournament having scooped the title back in 2011 by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova of Slovenia 6-1, 6-3. Cornet on the other hand never got as close as last year to laying her hands on the trophy, the Frenchwoman losing in the final in straight sets to Venus Williams (6-3, 6-0).

The betfair Exchange currently have the best prices on the tournament`s overall victor with Wozniacki the current second favourite at 14/5 and Cornet available at 19/1 to earn her fifth WTA title.

So far this tournament, 25-year-old Cornet needed three sets to see off Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, winning the first set with a bagel victory before losing out on the second by a tie-break. The world number 19 picked up the final set 6-3 to progress through to the second round.

In the second stage of the competition, the Nice-born star dropped only six games to beat Turk Cagla Buyukakcay in straight sets. Buyukakcay, who had previously tackled Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski in the first round, fell to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of the seeded French national.

Wozniacki, the competition`s third seed, receive a bye into the second stage of the tournament and it was here where she met Samantha Stosur of Australia. An unlikely upset looked to be rearing its head when Stosur took the first set 6-4 but the world number five fought back, only giving away one game in the second set and tying up the match with a 7-5 victory in the third.

Despite this closely run thing, Wozniacki is the 3/10 favourite (Coral, ladbrokes, sportingbet) to continue into the quarter-final with a victory this afternoon. Five-to-one with sportingbet says that the former world number one and two-time US Open finallist will have to win the match following her second consecutive defeat in the opening set. It`s 11/13 (888sport, unibet) should you think she can grab the victory without dropping a set.

Contrarily, last year`s Katowice Open victor can be backed at 14/5 with betway to take the plaudits by causing an upset today. Both betfair and boylesports have priced up a straight sets victory at 13/2 whilst her to win in three is available at Bwin at 29/4.

Wozniacki, who is one year Cornet`s junior, is considered to be the strong favourite for this tie mainly because she has won five of the women`s last six WTA meetings on-court. The pair last met in the Paribas Open in 2013 but their six outings stretch right back to the semi-finals of Italy`s Latina tournament in 2007. The women`s hard court head-to-head record reads 3-1 against Cornet.

The 5`8" French player`s only victory came in the second round of the US Open in the pair`s second meeting in 2007. Cornet just dropped three games in the 6-2, 6-1 thrashing that subsequently lead to the right-hander`s progression. Conversely, she has only taken one other set from the day`s opponent in the 13 sets they have played, that being in the second round of the Indian Wells tournament last time out. Wozniacki grabbed that victory 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. She would eventually finish the competition`s runner-up for the second time. As a result, Cornet is 4/6 (paddy Power, william hill) to not win a set.

Indeed, the two players have never had to battle out a tie-break which suggests it might be worth getting behind the odds of 1/4 (bet365, Befair, Bwin) on their not being one in the match. Eleven-to-four with bet365 is the best price on their being one.

Go To bet365

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18/02/2015     © Frixo 2026