The Pick, presented by DraftKings Sportsbook: Marta Kostyuk vs. Belinda Bencic, Miami

On Thursday, world No. 28 Belinda Bencic looks to get back on track against 55th-ranked Marta Kostyuk at the Miami Open. The 25-year-old is really struggling to find her game early in the 2022 season, as she is just 5-5 on the year. Bencic has also lost each of her last three matches coming into this one, with the most recent being a disappointing straight-set defeat to world No. 61 Kaia Kanepi at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The former world No. 4 had COVID-19 in December, which might have something to do with the slow start this year. Perhaps Bencic wasn’t able to work on her game as much as she normally would have, but that’s neither here nor there. The Olympic gold medalist is going to need to find a way to lock in for this meeting with Kostyuk, who is coming off of an impressive come-from-behind win over Top 60 competitor Alison Van Uytvanck two days earlier.

Kostyuk is one of the up-and-coming stars on the WTA Tour, as the aggressive ball striker has already made a name for herself despite having not yet turned 20. There’s a real chance that the Ukrainian ends up advancing in this match, but we expect these two to come prepared for a battle and strongly suggest not betting on a winner.

In a match that should be extremely tight, the best option will be having your money on this one being a longer match. With that, we’re looking at the Over on the game total of 21.5 here. With Kostyuk being the underdog in this match, she’s the one you’d normally have to worry about winning a set to extend the match. But we strongly believe she’ll get herself on the board in this one, which is why she’s listed at -225 to win a set. Meanwhile, Bencic is listed at -330 to win at least one, which shows you that the oddsmakers are begging bettors to take one of them to not win a set by throwing them out there at plus money.

Considering the way Bencic has played three months into the year, she’s actually the one you should be worried about. However, the Swiss should be well rested after having lost early in the desert last week. And we trust her to at least play a competitive match. With that in mind, look for Kostyuk to win the first set after having gotten her feet wet in Miami yesterday, but expect her more experienced opponent to get back on track and make things interesting the rest of the way.

The Pick: Over 21.5 Games (-115)