St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2022 Final: Maria Sakkari vs Anett Kontaveit preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (1) Maria Sakkari vs (2) Anett Kontaveit

Date: 13 February 2022.

Tournament: St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Round: Final

Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia.

Category: WTA 500.

Surface: Indoor Hardcourt.

Match timing: Not before 4.30 pm local time, 1.30 pm GMT, 8.30 am ET, 7 pm IST.

Prize money: $703,580.

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

Maria Sakkari vs Anett Kontaveit preview

Top seed Maria Sakkari will square off against second seed Anett Kontaveit in a blockbuster final in St. Petersburg on Sunday.

After crashing out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, the Greek has rebounded strongly in this WTA 500 indoor event. The World No. 7 cruised through her first three rounds without dropping a set until she faced Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu in the semifinals.

Begu made a strong comeback against Sakkari by snatching the second set in a tie-break. She was even the first to break in the decider before the top seed rediscovered her touch.

Sakkari ultimately came through the bruising battle 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 in three hours and four minutes.

This is her first final since finishing as the runner-up to her next opponent, Anett Kontaveit, in Ostrava five months ago.

Kontaveit in action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy

The Kontaveit juggernaut, meanwhile, continues to move uninterruptedly indoors. Having triumphed in Ostrava, Moscow and Cluj-Napoca last year, the Estonian is eyeing the St. Petersburg title this week as well.

Her fantastic run now sees her on a 19-match winning streak indoors - the sixth-best streak under the roof dating back to 1989.

Kontaveit conceded a set in her first match this week against Jil Teichmann. Since then she has looked unstoppable, beating Sorana Cirstea, Belinda Bencic and Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

Ostapenko, in fact, raced out to a 3-0 lead in their semi-final clash before Kontaveit stormed back to close out the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

She will be eager to keep her excellent run going and rise to a career-high No. 6 ranking with the St. Petersburg title.

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Maria Sakkari vs Anett Kontaveit head-to-head

Familiar foes Sakkari and Kontaveit have met 12 times since 2016. They are locked at 6-6 in their head-to-head, having split their meetings equally so far.

The two squared off as many as five times last year, with the Estonian taking three of those matches, including their last two. The Ostrava final, played in similar indoor conditions as St. Petersburg, happens to be one of those. Kontaveit ran away to a 6-2, 7-5 win that day.

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Maria Sakkari vs Anett Kontaveit prediction

Anett Kontaveit has flipped a switch inside her in the past few months. She is far more confident than before, which is reflected in her recent success.

Even when staring at a 0-3 deficit against Ostapenko, the World No. 9 never stopped believing in herself. She absorbed the Latvian's pace and power efficiently to use it against her.

Kontaveit's deadly down-the-line returns on Ostapenko's second serves left the former French Open champion with no answer.

The second seed will look to employ the same tactic against Sakkari in the final - take the ball early and pounce on second serves. Her slice will also be effective in disrupting the rhythm of the big-hitting Greek.

Sakkari isn't good at switching to Plan B when put under pressure. If her serve doesn't work and her aggressive game is suffocated, she might not be able to hit back.

Besides, the Greek will be coming into this contest on the back of a marathon win in the semifinals and that could affect her energy levels.

Prediction: Anett Kontaveit to win in two tight sets.