WTA Coupe Rogers 2014 Betting: Back Lisicki to prevail in battle against Errani

Will power prevail for Lisicki?

The Coupe Rogers 2014 get underway in Montreal on Monday, and Abelson Info look through the opening day encounters to pick out the value bets...

Despite the fact that the top eight seeds all receive byes in the first round, there are some intriguing clashes ahead on the first day of action in Canada, with all eyes on Sara Errani against Sabine Lisicki.

Neither player will be particularly satisfied with their recent form, with Errani arriving off the back of a clay court tournament which followed up her first round exit at Wimbledon in June.

Meanwhile, her German opponent was defeated in straight sets in her opening outing in Stanford last week, and as a result both players will potentially be struggling for form early on in this encounter.

Errani has the slight edge after winning their only previous meeting, but that came at the French Open and this is likely to be a completely different proposition for the Italian ace who will need to be at her gritty best to secure victory.

Nevertheless, despite setting the record for the fastest serve in women's tennis last week, Lisicki has her lowest winning percentage on hard courts out of all the surfaces, and although both individuals are desperately looking to put some form together ahead of the US Open, we feel as though Lisicki will still be able to edge it.

Elsewhere, Heather Watson is also in action on Monday after coming through the qualifying rounds with some impressive wins. Her reward is an opening round clash with Wimbledon surprise package Tereza Smitkova, but based on more recent results it looks as though that run was an exception to the norm, as the Czech has struggled since.

Therefore, there is value in backing Watson to get off to a confident start and to win in straight sets to advance to the next round.

The same could also be said of Sloane Stephens, although the American has struggled for form in recent months and will be desperate to use this tournament as a catalyst to become competitive again.

Having dropped to world number 20, Stephens will be looking to silence the home crowd against Montreal-native Aleksandra Wozniak, and given the rivalry between the two countries, this could be quite a feisty affair.

However, back Stephens to produce a repeat performance of their last meeting which came in Beijing back in 2013, as the diminutive American won in straight sets.

Meanwhile, another intriguing battle to look out for is Roberta Vinci's match against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, with the pair going the distance in four of their previous five clashes.

That meeting to go three sets is available at 2.56/4, and given their history of producing tightly contested matches, this could be no different.

Recommended Bets:
Back Lisicki to beat Errani @ 2.0421/20
Back Watson to beat Smitkova 2-0 @ 2.186/5