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Match details
Fixture: (9) Karolina Pliskova vs Sloane Stephens
Date: 3 June 2021
Tournament: Roland Garros 2021
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red Clay
Prize money: €17,171,108
Match timing: Approx. 2 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 8 am EST, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Karolina Pliskova vs Sloane Stephens preview
Ninth seed Karolina Pliskova will take on unseeded American Sloane Stephens on Thursday for a spot in the third round at Roland Garros 2021.
Karolina Pliskova has had an underwhelming season. The Czech failed to make it past the quarterfinals at a single hardcourt event this year.
Her struggles continued in the claycourt swing until she finally hit some form in Rome, defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Vera Zvonareva, and Petra Martic en route to the final. However, her momentum was well and truly halted in the final as she slumped to a dismal 6-0, 6-0 defeat by Iga Swiatek.
Pliskova was handed a tricky first-round encounter against Donna Vekic at Roland Garros, but she managed to prevail 7-5, 6-4.
Her second-round opponent Sloane Stephens has endured a similarly poor season. The American entered the claycourt season with a dismal 1-5 win-loss record in tow. She has, however, turned her fortunes around on the dirt.
The 28-year-old reached the quarterfinals in Charleston and the semifinals in Parma to gain some much-needed momentum ahead of the French Open.
Stephens was pushed to the limit by Carla Suarez Navarro in her 2021 Roland Garros opener, but managed to overturn a one-set deficit to prevail 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova vs Sloane Stephens head-to-head
The second-round encounter at Roland Garros is the fifth match between the two players. Sloane Stephens currently leads the head-to-head 3-1.
Stephens defeated the Czech on grass at Wimbledon 2012 and on hardcourts at Beijing 2015 and the 2018 WTA Finals. However, Pliskova prevailed in the pair's only meeting on clay, in the third round of the 2018 Madrid Open.
Karolina Pliskova vs Sloane Stephens prediction
Karolina Pliskova comes into the second-round encounter as the heavy favorite. Pliskova relies on her powerful first serve to do most of the heavy lifting in matches. When her serve is firing on all cylinders, the rest of her game seems to automatically fall into place.
Sloane Stephens, on her part, will look to use her footspeed and swiftness to prolong rallies and draw errors from Pliskova's racquet. However, the American has been guilty of making far too many cheap mistakes herself in recent matches.
Pliskova is the more experienced campaigner on clay, and her tennis has been solid in recent weeks. If she can stay focused on serve and put pressure on Stephens during return games, she should be able to subdue the American and advance to the third round.
Prediction: Karolina Pliskova to win in straight sets.
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