Match details
Fixture: (2) Elina Svitolina vs Magda Linette
Date: 22 September 2020
Tournament: Internationaux de Strasbourg 2020
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Strasbourg, France
Category: WTA International
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €225,500
Match timing: Approx. 11:30 am CEST, 3:00 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN
Elina Svitolina vs Magda Linette preview
Second seed Elina Svitolina will look to get back to winning ways when she takes on the 35th-ranked Magda Linette in her opening match at the Internationaux de Strasbourg 2020 on Tuesday.
In the absence of the top seed Karolina Pliskova, who withdrew from this WTA International event after reaching the final at the Italian Open, World No. 6 Elina Svitolina is the highest-ranked player in the field. The Ukrainian will hope to erase her Rome disappointment and get back some of her much-needed confidence at Strasbourg before heading to Roland Garros.
The two-time French Open quarterfinalist played her first tournament post-pandemic at the Italian capital. While she did beat two experienced campaigners in Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Svitolina had no answer to last year's French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova who blew her away 6-3, 6-0.
The Ukrainian was clearly nowhere near the form that brought her the trophy at Monterrey before the tour came to a standstill.
The 28-year-old Magda Linette also tasted title glory earlier this year, at the WTA International tournament in Hua Hin. But since then her performances have been nothing to write home about.
The Pole won a round at Lexington on the resumption of the tour, before losing in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open. Linette did notch up a couple of wins at the US Open, and last week in Rome she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The Pole has plenty of talent, but maintaining consistency has been an uphill task for her lately.
Elina Svitolina vs Magda Linette head-to-head
The head-to-head between Elina Svitolina and Magda Linette currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Svitolina. They have played only once before, on the terre battue of Roland Garros in 2017, where the Ukrainian registered a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5 victory on her way to the fourth round.
Elina Svitolina vs Magda Linette prediction
Elina Svitolina and Magda Linette are evenly matched in terms of playing style, with both having a strong baseline game. The difference is that Svitolina's accuracy level is higher, and that will likely give her the edge in this match.
Besides, the Ukrainian will be determined to get back on track after her demoralizing Rome loss. That fuel could possibly take her all the way to the title this week in Strasbourg.
Prediction: Elina Svitolina to win in straight sets.
