WTA Betting: Back Watson to shine in the Californian sun

Can Watson overcome Goerges on Wednesday?

With the top seeds all receiving byes into the second round, Abelson Info pick out their clashes of the first round at Indian Wells...

Although the big names on the tour will always receive the main headlines, the beauty of the WTA circuit right now is the number of young stars ready to take over in the future.

A number of them will also make their tournament debut in the next round, but there are still several intriguing battles ahead on Wednesday.

Amongst them, is Lauren Davis taking on Anna Schmiedlova, with the pair inseparable in various statistics. The duo are just two places apart in the world rankings, with the Slovakian ace trailing Davis as the world number 55.

In addition, Schmiedlova has won just four matches more than Davis as the pair both turned pro back in 2011.

However, given home comforts and with neither having produced decent tennis more recently, we believe that the American is more than capable of causing an upset and is therefore worth backing as she has shown previously that she can cause any player trouble on her day.

Elsewhere, British hopeful Heather Watson will be hoping to set up a second round meeting with Camila Giorgi by getting past Julia Goerges in her first match.

The German ace won their only previous meeting which came back at the 2012 French Open, but Watson will be looking to re-discover the level of performance she displayed in Hobart at the start of the year.

The 22-year-old disappointed at the Australian Open and has failed to impress in the two tournaments she has participated in since. As a result, this is as good a platform as any for her to break-out again, and she will be fully aware of how important this match is.

Watson is less experienced, but she has the all-round game to cause Goerges problems. While we back her to win, she will certainly make this competitive at the very least.

Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens is a surprise inclusion in the first round and the young American needs to get back on track after recent disappointment.

The world number 42 has endured a miserable 2015 thus far, but she will be desperate to put that right against Chanelle Scheepers who has yet to win a single match since the turn of the year.

Stephens was once regarded as the next big American hope on the WTA tour, and a strong showing in California will re-introduce her to the conversation as she could face Angelique Kerber in the next round.

Recommended Bets
Back Davis to beat Schmiedlova @ 1.8910/11
Back Watson to beat Goerges @ 2.588/5
Back Stephen to beat Scheepers 2-0 @ Best 1.715/7