Mananchaya Sawangkaew (world 109) and Anna Blinkova (world 108) meet in the first round at 5:30 am AEST on Saturday, 15 August. The pair sit a single ranking point apart — Sawangkaew 749, Blinkova 749 — and have never met on tour. A clean slate with even ladder stakes.
Sawangkaew owns a 2-2 year-to-date record; Blinkova sits 4-16 ytd despite a stronger career ledger (104-155, 40 per cent). The early-season numbers tell opposite stories — the Thai sits even, the Russian deep in the red. That's the first stat that jumps off the page.
Who will win?
Sawangkaew arrives coming off a loss — went down 7-3, 3-5(6), 6-6 to Taylah Preston on Saturday, 1 August. Before that stumble she'd reeled off three straight wins over En-Shuo Liang, Nao Hibino and a TBD opponent late in July. Three wins from four starts this month.
Blinkova is riding a two-match win streak. Her most recent outing saw her take out Eva Lys 3-6, 6-6(2), 2 on Thursday, 13 August; the start before that was a 6-6(3), 4 win over Dominika Salkova. Across her last five starts she's won three — all of those victories tagged (H), suggesting she's found rhythm in home conditions. The two losses in that run came on the road.
Neither player has a head-to-head ledger to lean on — the h2hRecord reads 0-0 across every surface. No history, no pattern. The market has Blinkova as a short favourite despite the 4-16 ytd win rate; Sawangkaew rates a real chance given the even season records and Blinkova's road struggles visible in that last-five sequence.
The head-to-head market sits 1.74 (Sawangkaew) / 2.10 (Blinkova). Live prices only — no opening line available. Blinkova gets the nod from the bookmaker, but the gap is narrow. Our tennis tips lean toward the underdog when you weigh the season ledgers and recent form splits.
Tipped at $1.74 (10:12 pm AEST). Opinion, not a guarantee. Gamble responsibly — 18+.
Head-to-head context
2–3
Yulia Putintseva vs Belinda Bencic
Set Handicap: can Sawangkaew cover the start?
The Set Handicap market offers Sawangkaew +1.5 sets at 1.40, Blinkova -1.5 at 2.80. That line asks whether Blinkova can win in straight sets — a tall order given her patchy ytd form and Sawangkaew's three wins from four this month.
Sawangkaew pushed Preston to three sets in her last outing (lost the decider on a tiebreak). Blinkova's last two wins both went the distance — three-setters against Lys and Salkova. The numbers say neither player is running opponents off the court. A +1.5 start for the underdog gets a big tick when both recent samples point to competitive matches.
Tipped at $2.80 (10:12 pm AEST). Opinion, not a guarantee. Gamble responsibly — 18+.
Set handicap (±1.5) form
−1.5 cover = won by two or more sets. Charts use recent completed scorelines.
Yulia Putintsevalast 3
Belinda Benciclast 3
Total Games: chasing the over
Total Games is set at 21.5 — over 1.85, under 1.95. Sawangkaew's last start clocked 22 games (7-3, 3-5(6), 6-6 adds to 7+8+7). Blinkova's most recent match also landed on 22 games (3-6, 6-6(2), 2 = 9+8+2, accounting for the tiebreak as one game). Two consecutive 22-game outings for the two players involved.
Both have shown a willingness to trade sets. Blinkova's last-five ledger includes three three-setters; Sawangkaew went the distance in her last outing and pushed deep into a third in two other recent starts. The over rates a real chance when the stat trend points to longer matches and neither player holds a dominant edge.
Tipped at $1.85 (10:12 pm AEST). Opinion, not a guarantee. Gamble responsibly — 18+.
Match total games
Average games from recent scorelines · marker shows live line 19.5.
Hit rate vs 19.5