Some of the first round action at the 2023 WTA Ningbo Open will see Varvara Gracheva take on Valeria Savinykh and Lucia Bronzetti play Jil Teichmann. Get the live streaming options along the predictions, preview and head to head for these matches along with Anna Blinkova v Viktoria Hruncakova and Yulia Putintseva v Daria Saville.
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Varvara Gracheva v Valeria Savinykh Preview & Prediction
Seeded five in Ningbo, Gracheva made a strong start to the year, reaching the third round of the Australian Open, the final in Austin, and the quarter-finals of both Indian Wells and Miami.
Her subsequent dip in form coincides with her acquiring French nationality in June. Since then, positive results have dried up, with her last appearance in a quarter-final coming on the grass of Bad Homburg.
In fact, since Wimbledon, she has only won one main tour match, and that was in the first round of Cincinnati.
She has not played since losing in the first round of the US Open to Taylor Townsend of the USA, beaten in straight sets.
Savinykh has appeared in four finals on the ITF circuit this year, winning one of them in Spain in June.
Attempts though, to make the main draw of WTA events had proved fruitless, until she came through qualifying in Osaka to make the second round.
She was knocked out in the second round of qualifying for Guangzhou, but has fought her way through in Ningbo, defeating Sijia of China, and Rebecca Marino, both in three sets.
This could be a good chance for Gracheva to kick start her season, against an opponent for whom appearing in main draws remains a novelty.
Gracheva v Savinykh Tip
Three sets in the match: 5/4 (bet365)
Lucia Bronzetti v Jil Teichmann Preview & Prediction
Bronzetti, the eighth seed, has been enjoying a strong season, winning her maiden WTA tour title in Rabat on clay, and reaching the final of bad Homburg on grass.
The Italian has also won a Challenger tour event, and reached the third round of the US Open for the first time in her career.
Playing in her first tournament since New York in Guangzhou last week, she beat a Chinese wildcard in the first round, and then knocked out Moyuka Uchijima of Japan.
Greetje Minnen of Belgium ended her run, coming from behind to win in three sets.
Just over a year ago Teichmann was on the fringes of breaking into the top 20. It is a measure of how far her stock has fallen since then, that she has plummeted out of the top 100, and finds herself in the qualifying competition for events like Ningbo.
At least she managed it this time, which is more than she achieved in Guangzhou last week, defeating Yidi Yang of China and Arianne Hartono, although it took her three sets to get past the Dutchwoman.
Not having won a main draw match since competing on home soil in Lausanne, she will not be going into her match with Bronzetti with a great deal of confidence, and the Italian must be regarded as the clear favourite.
Bronzetti v Teichmann Tip
Bronzetti to win in three sets: 3/1 (bet365)
Anna Blinkova v Viktoria Hruncakova Preview & Prediction
The number four seed in Ningbo, Blinkova reached her second WTA final in May in Strasbourg, although she then lost to Elina Svitolina.
She would go on to reach the third round of the French Open, a feat she matched at Wimbledon.
Since then, though, results have taken a distinct turn for the worse, and her last victory was in the first round of Montreal.
Every subsequent match has ended in defeat, including her first round loss in the US Open to Jodie Burrage of Great Britain. Not having played since she will be hoping that her rest she has subsequently enjoyed will help her rediscover her form.
Hruncakova’s greatest successes on the main tour have come in doubles events, where she has won four titles, the most recent of which was in Linz earlier this year. S, though
She has, though won 14 ITF singles titles, although none for five years, and her ranking has dropped from her peak of 43 in the world.
Last week, though, she defied expectation by coming through qualifying in Guangzhou and going on to reach the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual winner, Xiyu Wang.
She will be hopeful of a similar outcome in Ningbo, after again emerging from qualifying, defeating two Chinese opponents in straight sets.
Despite her disappointing form of late, Blinkova will still be confident of beating the Slovak who is ranked 88 places below her in the world.
Blinkova v Hruncakova Tip
Blinkova to win: 1/2 (bet365)
Yulia Putintseva v Daria Saville Preview & Prediction
History is very much on the side of Putintseva in this match, having won all three of their previous meetings, although the most recent of those matches was more than four years ago in Sydney.
In truth, this has been a disappointing year for Putintseva, and she now find herself at her lowest world ranking since 2014.
First round exits at both Wimbledon and the US Open were unwelcome, but the move to Asia appears to have benefitted her. She reached the quarter-finals in Osaka, and went one better in Guangzhou last week, eventually losing to the top seed Magda Linette in straight sets.
It was almost a year ago that Saville picked up the ACL injury that would sideline her for months, and she only made her competitive return at Wimbledon in July.
A run to the semi-finals in Hamburg, after coming through qualifying, showed what she is capable of when fully fit, but the road back towards the top can be long and hard.
She reached the second round of the US Open and the same stage in Guangzhou last week, where she, too, was beaten by Linette.
Putintseva v Saville Tip
Putintseva to win: 8/11 (bet365)
The 2023 Ningbo Open will be played from September 25 to October 1. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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