Istanbul 2021: Ana Bogdan vs Veronika Kudermetova preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Ana Bogdan vs Veronika Kudermetova

Date: 23 April 2021

Tournament: TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Istanbul, Turkey

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Clay

Prize money: $235,238

Match timing: Approx. 7 pm local time, 9.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport

Ana Bogdan vs Veronika Kudermetova preview

Romania's Ana Bogdan notched up an upset win over fifth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the 2021 TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship on Thursday. The 28-year old needed a little over an hour and 20 minutes to close out a 6-3, 6-3 win and advance to the quarterfinals.

Awaiting Bodgan up ahead is the recently-crowned Charleston champion and third seed Veronika Kudermetova.

Kudermetova entered the Istanbul event on the back of some solid results. In addition to having captured the crown in Charleston, she had also made it to the summit clash in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian has been fairly consistent throughout 2021, holding a strong 18-8 win-loss record for the year. Against a relatively unheralded opponent like Bogday, Kudermetova will be sensing an opportunity to make it to yet another semifinal.

Ana Bogdan vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head

Ana Bogdan leads Veronika Kudermetova in the head-to-head with a comfortable 3-0 margin. The Romanian scored a hard-fought three-set win over her opponent in the duo's last meeting, which came at the 2020 Fed Cup.

Ana Bogdan vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction

The huge gap in the world rankings notwithstanding, this one could well have a close finish. Veronika Kudermetova definitely enters the contest as the favorite on paper, but she has had her fair share of struggles against Ana Bogdan in the past.

Bogdan possesses a strong baseline-oriented game that can trouble even the best. Her array of groundstroke winners against Krejcikova in the last match is testament to how dangerous the 28-year old can be when she is playing at her best.

Playing another in-form opponent in Kudermetova, Bogdan certainly has the odds stacked against her. But the Romanian knows her opponent's game well, and has managed to dismantle it in the past.

Bogdan would be fancying her chances of scoring another big upset here, but to do that, she would have to deliver a near-flawless performance on Friday. And that's easier said than done.

Prediction: Veronika Kudermetova to win in three sets.