World No. 8 Maria Sakkari will be up against Ukraine’s World No. 26 Anhelina Kalinina in the first round of the 2023 WTA Eastbourne International on Monday, June 26. Get the predictions and odds of this Maria Sakkari v Anhelina Kalinina match along with its preview, head-to-head, and tips here.
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Maria Sakkari v Anhelina Kalinina Head to Head
The head-to-head between Maria Sakkari and Anhelina Kalinina is tied at 1-1. Incidentally, Kalinina won her match against Sakkari in Eastbourne last year before the Greek exacted revenge at this year’s Indian Wells.
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Sakkari Makes Berlin Semis
After a slow start to grass-court swing in which she suffered a second-round defeat in Nottingham, Maria Sakkari was back to something resembling her best form.
The Greek superstar exacted revenge in Berlin where she drew her Nottingham conqueror Alize Cornet in the first hurdle.
She defeated her for the loss of six games. Sakkari made it all the way to the semifinal, earning a very good win over the Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova in the quarters.
And Sakkari, who played two matches on Saturday, following Friday’s postponement of matches in Berlin due to heavy rain, came up short in the second match, which was a semifinal defeat against big-hitting Donna Vekic.
Sakkari had her chances to force a third set, leading Vekic 2-0 and then 5-3 in the second set, but was foiled by the power-hitting Croat each time.
Sakkari will now switch her attention to Eastbourne which is her final preparatory tournament before Wimbledon. Her record there is not great. In three visits, she has failed to go beyond the second round.
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Kalinina Loses to Dart in Back-to-Back Tournaments
Anhelina Kalinina is 2-2 on grass, losing to the same opponent – Harriet Dart – in Nottingham and Birmingham respectively.
The Ukrainian will be delighted to land in a different half of the draw in Eastbourne than that of the Briton who has proven to be a bogey opponent for her.
Last year, Kalinina didn’t have a great start to the grass-court swing, losing in each of her first two tournaments at an early stage.
But it all came together in Eastbourne where she defeated Sorana Cirstea, Maria Sakkari, and Yulia Putintseva to make the quarterfinals – that remains her best run on the lawns at WTA level.
A similar run this week is highly unlikely considering Kalinina’s inconsistent year on tour. It’s been a mixed year for Kalinina whose best result came on clay in Rome where she reached her first WTA 1000 final.
Outside the Eternal City, there has been nothing to smile about with a string of early exits to boot. Let’s see if she’ll have the measure of Sakkari for the second year in a row.
Sakkari v Kalinina Prediction and Tip
Sakkari comes in with a bit of grass-court momentum. Kalinina, by contrast, is having a poor season. Outside her run in Rome, her results defy her current ranking. Expect Sakkari to avenge last year’s loss at this very tournament in two sets.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Sakkari to win: 1/2
- Moderate Risk Tip: Sakkari to win in straight sets: 6/5
The 2023 WTA Eastbourne International will be played from June 25 to July 1. 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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