World no. 20, and the number 20 seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, will take on Sorana Cirstea of Romania, the world number 34, in the second round of the 2023 Rome Open on Friday, May 12. Get the live streaming options of this Jelena Ostapenko v Sorana Cirstea match along with its preview, head-to-head, and tips here.
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Jelena Ostapenko v Sorana Cirstea Head to Head
The pair have played each other twice before, both times on hard courts, and both matches taking place in 2017.
Ostapenko won at the US Open and, again, at the China Open a few weeks later.
Also Read:
Ostapenko Looking to Improve on Madrid Showing
When Ostapenko won the French Open as a teenager back in 2017, she would have been hoping that was the first of numerous Grand Slam titles.
Unfortunately, the closest she has come since was a Wimbledon semi-final, although she did reach the last eight of the Australian Open for the first time earlier this year.
From there she went to Dubai where she reached the semi-finals in the doubles, the best result of the season so far.
Her clay court form has been mixed so far. She thrashed Emma Radecanu in the first round in Stuttgart, but then went down to Ons Jabeur in three sets,
And in Madrid, having gotten the better of the Czech teenager Linda Fruhvitova, her run was ended by the world number 16, Liudmila Samsonova, in a one sided match in which she won just two games.
Having been given a first round bye in Rome, she will want to give a better account of herself in Italy.
Also Read:
Cirstea Won Challenger Event Last Week
Cirstea has enjoyed something of a career renaissance this year, reaching the quarter-finals in Indian Wells, and then going one better in Miami, her first WTA 1000 semi-final since 2013.
Her first clay court tournament of the season ended in a second round defeat in Madrid, but she then found some form on the surface by entering and winning a Challenger event in Spain, beating Elizabeth Mandlik of the USA in Monday’s final.
Another American, Katy Volynets the world number 102, was her first round opponent., and when she won the first set for the loss of just two games, a minor upset seemed on the cards.
The Romanian, though, is a highly experienced campaigner, and did not panic, and secured the early break that enabled her to take the second set and level the match.
And, after the pair swapped breaks early in the third set, it was Cirstea who secured the precious break that enabled her to go on and seal victory.
Ostapenko v Cirstea Prediction and Tip
This is a tough result to call, although Ostapenko may be the very marginal favourite courtesy of her higher world ranking. This match, though, could easily go either way.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Ostapenko to win: 4/5
- Moderate Risk Tip: Over 21.5 games in the match: 4/5
The 2023 WTA Rome Open will be played from May 9 to 21. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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