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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Pliskova
Date: February 21, 2023
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Center, Dubai, UAE
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Match timing: 12 noon local time, 8 am GMT, 3 am EST, 1.30 pm IST
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Pliskova preview
Sixth seed Maria Sakkari will open her Dubai campaign against 2015 runner-up Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday.
Sakkari has made a commendable start to the 2023 season, but the World No. 7's long wait for her second career title continues. She guided Greece to the semifinals of the United Cup, following which her Australian Open challenge ended in the third round.
The 27-year-old bounced back soon after with back-to-back semifinals in Linz and Doha. With the latter coming just last week, Sakkari would have arrived in Dubai with tremendous confidence.
Since making the quarterfinals of the US Open last year, former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova has been on an inconsistent run of form. The Czech managed just two wins for the rest of 2022.
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up made a losing start to the 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1. Although she qualified for the Adelaide International 2 the very next week, Pliskova was sent packing in the first round of the main draw. However, the 30-year-old made a remarkable turnaround thereafter, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Pliskova has once again been struggling since her Melbourne Park heroics. While her Abu Dhabi sojourn ended in the second round, she lost in the first round in Doha after qualifying for the main draw.
The World No. 18 has now begun her Dubai title quest with a 6-3, 6-4 win over compatriot and former French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova and will hope to take the positives forward.
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Pliskova head-to-head
Sakkari and Karolina Pliskova are tied 2-2 in the head-to-head. Pliskova came through 6-1, 6-7(9), 6-3 in their most recent encounter at Toronto last year.
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Pliskova odds
(Odds sourced from oddschecker.com)
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Pliskova prediction
Albeit Karolina Pliskova is way more experienced than Sakkari, her recent form doesn't inspire much confidence. Of late, the lanky Czech has been struggling to string together wins consistently week in and week out.
Pliskova's serve, which used to be considered one of the best in the business, has somewhat lost its sheen now. Against Vondrousova, she did produce five aces but also offset those with six double faults.
The former World No. 1, though, won a humongous 79.5% of her first-serve points, something she will need to put Sakkari in a spot of bother. Nevertheless, it will be tough to replicate the same against a player as aggressive as the Greek.
Sakkari is currently one of the hardest hitters on the tour and has been in a rich vein of form coming into this contest. The 27-year-old won't hesitate to blast the ball past Pliskova if she senses a dip in her opponent's intensity.
Unless Sakkari's fragile mentality gets in her way, she should be through to the last 16.
Pick: Maria Sakkari to win in three sets
