World number three Karolina Pliskova will take on the 41st-ranked Veronika Kudermetova in their second round match of the 2020 Western & Southern Open on Sunday, August 23. This match will begin at around 5 pm local time (10 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Karolina Pliskova v Veronika Kudermetova match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Karolina Pliskova v Veronika Kudermetova Head to Head
This will be the second time they will be facing off in a competitive match with the first having come on the clay court of the Stuttgart Open. Pliskova had won it in straight sets.
Pliskova Added Her 16th Title This Year But…
It was a great start to the season for the Czech player when she went on a winning streak at the Brisbane International in the lead-up to the year’s first Grand Slam. Victories against Ajla Tomljanovic, Alison Riske, Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys helped Pliskova win her 16th WTA title and she was anointed one of the favourites for the Australian Open.
Unfortunately for Pliskova, who has never won a single Grand Slam title in her career, it was a case of another opportunity missed. With women’s tennis in flux and Serena Williams still struggling to close out her 24th Grand Slam title, this is an excellent opportunity for someone from the top players list to add to their majors win.
And in winning her first two matches in straight sets, Pliskova looked to be settling down in a bid to go the distance. Unfortunately for her, she then went down in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. What was so shocking about that loss was Pliskova’s record against Pavlyuchenkova before that defeat was a whopping 6-0, having dropped just one set across those six matches.
Since then the wind seemed to have gone off her sails as Pliskova fell to second-match defeats in both Dubai and Doha, losing to Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur. And while she returns to tennis having played six matches on clay during the break, it would be interesting to see how she responds to the rustiness from not having played on hard courts.
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Kudermetova Prefers Hard Court Surfaces
While the Russian world number 41 lost in the first round of the Prague Open – her first tournament on the return of tennis – Kudermetova might not have lost too much sleep over it. She loves the hard courts and returning to that surface at the Western & Southern Open would have given her that confidence.
Playing Tomljanovic in her opener, Kudermetova lost the first set but that did not deter her too much as she raced off to a three-set win by pocketing the next two 6-3, 7-5.
Kudermetova had earlier made it to the semifinal of the Hobart International, and then defeated Dayana Yastremska at the WTA Dubai in the opening round there. In the second round of that competition, the Russian stretched Belinda Bencic to a third set tie-breaker before getting edged out.
Karolina Pliskova v Veronika Kudermetova Prediction & Tip
Pliskova is a heavy favourite here at 2/9 but the lack of hard court tennis might play against her. Expect Kudermetova to have some say in the match although Pliskova’s experience should hold sway in the end.
Tip: Over 19.5 games in the match: 4/5 (bet365)
You can watch & bet on the Cincinnati Open on Sunday, August 23 here. Get the latest tennis predictions and tips here.
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