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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs (WC) Veronika Kudermetova
Date: June 22, 2023
Tournament: bett1open 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 16)
Venue: Berlin, Germany
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Grass
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Veronika Kudermetova preview
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will face off against World No. 13 Veronika Kudermetova in the second round of the 2023 bett1open on Thursday.
Sabalenka was drawn against former Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva in the opening round. The former held three break points on her opponent's serve in the fourth game of the first set, but wasted all of them.
Sabalenka had another opportunity in the sixth game and was successful in securing a break of serve to go 4-2 up. She remained ahead until the end of the set to claim it. The Belarusian broke Zvonareva's serve to start the second set and followed it up with an easy service hold to make it 2-0.
Sabalenka continued to dictate the proceedings and then went on a three-game towards the end to win the match 6-3, 6-2. Having crashed out in the first round here last year, she's already off to a great start this time.
Kudermetova, meanwhile, faced Qinwen Zheng in her opener. The latter was the first to get a whiff of a break point in the first set, but was unable to get the job done. The Russian didn't commit the same mistake, snagging a break in the ninth game to lead 5-4.
Kudermetova then served for the set and after saving a couple of break points, she closed it out. It was one-way traffic in the second set, with the Russian breaking Zheng's serve twice to win the match 6-4, 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head
The two have crossed paths thrice before on the WTA tour, with Sabalenka leading Kudermetova 2-1 in the head-to-head. The latter won their most recent encounter at the 2022 bett1open in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Veronika Kudermetova odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction
Both players kicked off their campaigns in Berlin with comfortable straight-sets victories. Sabalenka won a whopping 90% of her first-serve points and didn't face a single break point either. Kudermetova's numbers were similarly impressive, with 88% of points won on first serve.
Kudermetova dumped out Sabalenka in the first round of this very tournament when they faced off last time. However, the Belarusian is a completely different player since that encounter. She won the Australian Open at the start of the year and has lost prior to the quarterfinals just once so far this season.
Kudermetova has enough firepower in her groundstrokes to go toe-to-toe with Sabalenka, but is still in danger of being outhit by her. The Belarusian's serve when working effectively is one of the best on the tour.
Kudermetova reached the final of the Libema Open last week and is in good form. However, even with momentum on her side, getting the better of Sabalenka could prove to be a tall order for her.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.
