Qualifier Liu could leave her opponent trailing in her wake

WTA Honolulu & WTA Mumbai
Day two, from 9.30am Tuesday

There are high hopes for Claire Liu and the young American can open her account in the Hawaii Open in Honolulu with a victory over Danielle Lao.

Liu, 17, made light work of Meghan McCray in the solitary qualifying round, winning 6-0 6-3 against her compatriot, and there is such a positive strength of feeling behind the selection that it's difficult to take issue with odds-on quotes about her starting well in the main draw.

Lao, 26, will hope experience comes to her aid, but Liu looks so good that the oddsmakers are right to find in her favour.

Taysia Rogers is 2-1 with a start of 10.5 games on Betfred's handicap for her clash with top seed Shuai Zhang.

It's often tempting to try to find a way to support a young outsider in such a market but given that Rogers, 17, has not won more than two games in her last three outings, all against inferior players to Zhang, the market may be better left alone.

Zhang, 11-4 favourite to come through a draw which was made late on Sunday night, could easily outclass this field but punters may find better outright value in Liu, who Paddy Power added to their list at 33-1 on Monday.

In Mumbai, Belarusian Fed Cup finalist Aryna Sabalenka could see off Priscilla Hon in straight sets, but the Aussie played quite well in defeat to Belinda Bencic recently.

Recommendations
C Liu to win Hawaii Open
1pt each-way 33-1 Paddy Power
C Liu to beat D Lao
2pts 8-11Betfair

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