Queen’s/Aegon Day 3:SW19 quarter-finalist Stephens too strong

We’ve spread our net slightly further than just Queen’s – as far as Birmingham to be exact – for our coverage of the third day of the grass court season and have picked out a double that will have you reaching for the Pimms all night with a £10 wager paying out £40!

Sloane Stephens to beat Francesca Schiavone 2-0 @ Evens

Sloane Stephens returned to form at the French Open by reaching the round-of-16 and should be supported to maintain the momentum as the American prepares for Wimbledon.

World number 19 Stephens has struggled to reach the heights of last year but will be looking forward to returning to SW19 having recorded her second best Major result when going all the way to the last eight.

Stephens faces one of the fiercest players around in 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone but it is no secret that the Italian prefers the slower surfaces and the 33-year-old could be badly exposed by the pace of the court and her opponent.

It’s always with a certain amout of nerves backing a player to win in straight sets against someone with the fighting qualities of Schiavone but Stephens is still a player very much on the upgrade at this time of year while her opponent’s best days are behind her.

Kenny De Schepper to win at least one set vs Ernests Gulbis @ Evens

Ernests Gulbis admitted himself that he couldn’t believe how well he was playing when posting his best ever result at a Grand Slam last week in reaching the semi-finals of the French Open.

However, the fiery Latvian wouldn’t be the first player to struggle on his first appearance back from such a mammoth effort, especially when factoring in the change of surface.

Gulbis’ game is actually suited to the green stuff very well with the 25-year-old’s serve one of the most feared around, however, it’s worth taking a chance that he finds some time to settle after such a high.

His opponent Kenny De Schepper represents less of the reasoning behind this selection but there is no doubt the Frenchman is more at home on grass than any other terrain as evidenced with 10 victories from 15 attempts in the last campaign.

That represents his best win percentage at any point in his career and considering this is their first career meeting it would be disappointing if the world number 66 wasn’t able to trouble the favourite in at least one set.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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