Ostrava 2021: Sorana Cirstea vs Anett Kontaveit preview, head-to-head & prediction | J&T Banka Open

Match details

Fixture: Sorana Cirstea vs Anett Kontaveit

Date: 20 September 2021

Tournament: Ostrava Open 2021

Round: First (Round of 32)

Venue: Ostrava, Czech Republic

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Indoor hardcourt

Prize money: $565,530

Match timing: Not before 6 pm local time, 4 pm GMT, 12 pm EST, 9.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Sorana Cirstea vs Anett Kontaveit preview

Sorana Cirstea will kick off her 2021 Ostrava Open campaign with a tough opening-round match against Anett Kontaveit.

Cirstea is having a career resurgence in 2021. The Romanian won her first title since 2008 at the Istanbul Open, that too without dropping a set. She followed that up by reaching another final at the Strasbourg Open, losing to Barabora Krejcikova.

Cirstea concluded her clay season by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros. It was her first appearance at that stage of a Grand Slam in more than four years.

But after a brilliant first half of the season, the 31-year-old suffered early exits at most of the following tournaments. Now fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Slovenia Open, Cirstea will be looking to make some deep runs and end the year on a high.

Anett Kontaveit won her second title this year at the Cleveland Open.

Anett Kontavett, meanwhile, is having a pretty decent season too. The Estonian has made three finals this year, and even won her second career title - first since 2017 - at the Cleveland Open.

After a disappointing start to the North American hardcourt swing, Kontaveit rebounded by going all the way in Cleveland and reaching the third round of the US Open. Playing her first tournament since the conclusion of the year's final Major, the Estonian would go in pretty confident against Cirstea given that she's never lost a match to her.

Sorana Cirstea vs Anett Kontaveit head-to-head

Sorana Cirstea and Anett Kontaveit have met four times, with the Estonian winning on all four occasions. In fact, such is the dominance of Kontaveit that Cirstea has has won just one set in their four meetings.

This is their third meeting in 2021. Kontaveit won their most recent encounter, at the 2021 Miami Open, with a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Sorana Cirstea vs Anett Kontaveit prediction

Sorana Cirstea is seeking her first win over Anett Kontaveit.

Given her lopsided head-to-head record against Anett Kontaveit, Sorana Cirstea faces an uphill battle on Monday. But the Romanian certainly does have the game to challenge Kontaveit.

Both Cirstea and Kontaveit are aggressive baseliners who look to take control of the rallies and dictate play from the baseline. One of the reasons Kontaveit has the upper hand in this match-up is that she possesses a bit more variety in her arsenal. The Estonian is a better defensive player than Cirstea, and in a contest between two aggressive players, that can make a huge difference.

Prediction: Anett Kontaveit to win in two sets.