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Match details
Fixture: Jelena Ostapenko vs Veronika Kudermetova.
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2022.
Date: 19 February 2022.
Round: Final.
Venue: Dubai, UAE.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $703,580.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Veronika Kudermetova preview
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko will meet World No. 31 Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday in her quest to lift the Dubai trophy for the first time.
Ostapenko has been a revelation all week and has provided flashes of her surprise run to the 2017 Paris title. The Latvian has accounted for four Grand Slam champions in a row to make the summit clash in Dubai.
The former World No. 5 began her campaign with a ruthless straight-sets win over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. Her next three rounds turned out to be much tougher but Ostapenko held her nerve to pull off three-set comeback wins over each of Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep.
Her semifinal against Halep was particularly remarkable for the way she dominated the latter stages of the match. With the two tied at 6-6 in the second set, the World No. 21 bagged 27 of the next 34 points to seal the match 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-0.
Ostapenko will now hope to replicate those efforts one last time against Kudermetova on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Russian, too, has been highly impressive this week. Kudermetova upset Major winners Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza in a fabulous start to her title challenge in Dubai.
She then overcame a spirited Jil Teichmann 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to book her place in the last four against Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova. The 2019 French Open runner-up gave Kudermetova a walkover due to a right adductor injury.
This will be the Russian's second final of the season after finishing as the runner-up to Halep in Melbourne last month in the run-up to the Australian Open.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head
Ostapenko and Kudermetova have never squared off on the tour before, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction
This match will depend a lot on Ostapenko's racquet. How the Latvian serves and her ability to rein in her aggression could decide which way the title will go.
Ostapenko's semi-final showdown against Halep showed both the erratic and brilliant sides of her game. She was very hit-and-miss for the first set and a half, which allowed the Romanian to establish her control. But an unfazed Ostapenko soon cleaned up her act and rebounded in spectacular fashion.
The first set saw her racking up just nine winners to 29 unforced errors. But her numbers improved considerably, as she recorded 27 winners and 20 unforced errors in the next couple of sets.
Ostapenko's first serve percentage also jumped from 57% in the opening set to 72% and 75% in the second and third sets, respectively.
That said, chances won't be handed to her on a platter in the final since Kudermetova herself employs a similar attacking style of play. The Russian has excellent movement and is capable of making forays into the net as well, whenever she senses the opportunity.
However, she tends to make a high number of double faults under pressure. It is imperative that Kudermetova serves well in this match because any second serve will be relentlessly punished by her Latvian opponent.
Overall, she does have the ability to make it tough for Ostapenko, but once the latter gets into the zone and finds her uber-aggressive game, she will be hard to stop.
Prediction: Jelena Ostapenko to win in three sets.
