Sydney Tennis Classic 2022: Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (7) Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova

Date: 12 January 2021

Tournament: Sydney Tennis Classic 2022

Round: Round of 16 (second round)

Venue: Sydney, Australia

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $703,580

Match timing: TBA

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

Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova preview

Jabeur at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open.

Seventh seed Ons Jabeur and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are set to clash in the second round of the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic on Wednesday.

Jabeur started her 2022 season with a solid 6-1, 6-3 win over Astra Sharma. The Tunisian will be eager to follow up her breakthrough 2021 season with another good year.

She became the first Arab player to reach the top 10 of the rankings last year. The 27-year-old also won her first WTA title at the 2021 Birmingham Open, besides finishing as the runner-up in Charleston and Chicago. With 48 wins against her name, she tied with Anett Kontaveit for the most wins on the WTA Tour in 2021.

Petra Kvitova at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open.

Petra Kvitova almost made her second consecutive first-round exit this season when she faced two match points against Arantxa Rus in Sydney on Monday. But the Czech saved them both to progress to the next round.

Serving at 4-5 in the deciding set, the southpaw was twice a single point away from defeat. However, some solid play saw her secure the 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win and remain in the hunt for her third Sydney title.

Kvitova began her 2022 season with a surprising first-round loss to Priscilla Hon at the Adelaide International last week. While she isn't at her best yet, her win today should inspire plenty of confidence in her.

Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova head-to-head

The two have played against each other thrice so far, with Kvitova having a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record. The two-time Wimbledon champion won their most recent encounter, 6-1, 6-2 at the Cincinnati Open last year.

Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova prediction

Petra Kvitova at the 2021 Ostrava Open.

Considering their form, this is a good opportunity for Jabeur to score her very first win over Kvitova. The Czech narrowly avoided an exit in the first round and will need to rein in those errors if she wants to make a deep run in the tournament.

Another worrying aspect has been her serve and movement, which have let her down so far.

Jabeur's frequent drop shots and varied gameplay will have Kvitova scrambling, but so far Kvitova has handled that quite well in the past.

However, Jabeur played quite well in her first-round match as compared to the 31-year-old and looks the sharper of the two heading into this clash. If Kvitova doesn't step up her game soon, the Tunisian is going to run away with the match.

Prediction: Ons Jabeur to win in straight sets.

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