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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Anett Kontaveit vs Anastasia Potapova
Date: July 22, 2022
Tournament: Hamburg European Open
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Hamburg, Germany
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Clay
Match Timing: Not before 1 pm local time / 11 am GMT/ 7 am ET / 4:30 pm IST
Prize money: $251,750
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Anett Kontaveit vs Anastasia Potapova Preview
Top seed Anett Kontaveit will square off against World No. 63 Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals of the Hamburg European Open on Friday.
Kontaveit made a fabulous start to the year, reaching at least the semifinals in three of her first four events. Her best performance came in St. Petersburg, which she won. The Estonian backed that up with a run to the Qatar Open final, losing to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
However, she has struggled with health issues and loss of consistency since those highs. Contracting COVID-19 in the summer robbed her of a chance to build on her early-season form. Since her runner-up finish in Doha, the World No. 2 has added just four more wins to her tally before this week's Hamburg Open.
The 26-year-old finally seems to be getting back to her best at the ongoing WTA 250 event. With three wins, she has now made her first semifinal in five months.
Meanwhile, after a torrid start to her senior career, former junior prodigy Anastasia Potapova is making her presence felt on the tour. The 21-year-old Russian won her first career title in Istanbul in April and has taken her game up a notch since then.
She has now reached back-to-back semifinals - Lausanne last week and Hamburg this week. Potapova hasn't dropped a set so far in three matches in Hamburg, including a 6-1, 6-3 upset of 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals.
It was the fifth top-20 win of her fledgling career, an achievement that will see her break into the top 60 in the WTA rankings for the first time.
Anett Kontaveit vs Anastasia Potapova Head-to-head
Kontaveit has a 1-0 lead over Potapova in their head-to-head, having edged the Russian 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in Moscow four years ago.
Anett Kontaveit vs Anastasia Potapova Odds
(All odds sourced from Bet365)
Anett Kontaveit vs Anastasia Potapova Prediction
Although Kontaveit is the higher ranked player and the more experienced of the two, she hasn't been consistent recently. She has struggled to sustain a high level for a long period post her recovery from COVID-19.
Nevertheless, the Estonian has shown a lot of improvement this week. She produced excellent first-strike tennis in the quarterfinals, winning 77% of her first serve points before Andrea Petkovic retired.
While that should boost her confidence, her second serve continues to remain a liabiliyu and could be her undoing against a returner of Potapova's calibre. The youngster's return game has been on fire all week, helping earn her three wins. Her aggressive approach saw her break the Krejcikova serve as many as seven times, in a superlative performance.
Potapova has also made remarkable improvements in her movement and has bolstered her backhand, striking winners effortlessly off that wing. With the Russian playing so confidently for two weeks in a row, she will have a slight edge heading into this contest.
Pick: Anastasia Potapova to win in three sets.
