The 2019 Linz Open continues on Thursday, October 10 with its remaining second round matches as Kiki Bertens takes to court again. Here’s Kiki Bertens v Alison van Uytvanck & Donna Vekic v Kristina Mladenovic Tips tips, previews and predictions for these opening round matches.
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Kiki Bertens v Alison van Uytvanck Predictions & Preview
It’s been eight years since Kiki Bertens and Alison van Uytvanck played in their first and only match against each other. Van Uytvanck won it in the third set after Bertens retired because of an injury but all of that is water under the bridge. Bertens has won nine titles since then and rose to number fourth in the world – she is eighth now – and has been in the form of her life.
Interestingly, on indoor courts this season, Bertens is 5-0 on win-loss, having won a title at the St. Petersburg Open and then beating Misaki Doi in straight sets in her first round win here. She was also a semi-finalist at the China Open, in the lead-up to this competition, so that confidence also would have followed.
However, things get interesting despite van Uytvanck’s 44th rank on the WTA charts and that’s to do with her record on indoor courts. Van Uytvanck has also won a title indoors, clinching the Budapest Open earlier this year after having gone out in the second round at St.Petersburg Open and with a straight-set win over Yulia Bonaventure here, she is 7-1 on win-loss.
Tight match in the offing as a result.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 8/5 with Unibet
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Donna Vekic v Kristina Mladenovic Tips Predictions & Preview
In this second round match, Donna Vekic and Kristina Mladenovic will face off on Thursday and this is their fifth meeting. In the first two that were played in 2014, Mladenovic had won fairly easily but in the next two that were held this year, Vekic came back to crush her opponent. There was a 6-2, 6-4 drubbing at the Australian Open earlier this year and then a 7-5, 6-4 win at Nottingham.
Mladenovic is in the second round after her straight-set win over Katerina Siniakova having lost her only previous match this year on indoor court. And it’s not as if Mladenovic’s overall record this year has been something to boast about with just 27 wins to her 25 losses.
Vekic, who was ousted in the first round at this tournament last year, is 37-20 on win-loss this season but more vitally has five wins to one defeat on indoor courts. That’s to do with her run to the final of the St.Petersburg Open where she lost to Bertens but did beat Petra Kvitova on her way to the title-decider. She shouldn’t have a problem winning this one but it could be a close, two-set affair.
Tip: Vekic to win: 1/2 with Unibet
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Ekaterina Alexandrova v Laura Siegemund Predictions & Preview
This will be the first time that Ekaterina Alexandrova will be facing Laura Siegemund. On the one hand, Alexandrova’s current ranking of 35th in the world, is also her best ever, while the 31-year-old has fallen to 85th, from her best of 27th. And as you would expect from that description, Alexandrova’s record this year has been good, especially on non-clay surfaces.
On indoor courts, she was a quarterfinalist at the St.Petersburg Open after having to win three qualifiers to make the main draw, and then entered the semi-final at Bundapest. And now she came back from being a set down to beat Kristyna Pliskova in her opener. Siegemund, a qualifier here, was pushed to 7-5 in the final set by Fiona Ferro. It will get tougher from here on though, with Alexandrova possessing the arsenal to overcome Siegemund in this encounter.
Tip: Alexandrova to win in straight sets: 49/50 with Unibet
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Jelena Ostapenko v Alize Cornet Predictions & Preview
This will be the second meeting between Jelena Ostapenko and Alize Cornet when the two play in the second round of the Linz Open. In their first that came at the Cincinnati Open last year, Cornet was a three-set winner over Otapenko. Both players, however, entered the tournament on the back of a patchy year, one worse than the other.
Ostapenko is a former French Open winner but with an 18-27 win-loss this year, it was a surprise she won as easily as she did in her first round match against Tamara Korpatsch. Then again, Korpatsch is ranked 130th in the world and you do expect Ostapenko to come good at some point.
Now comes the bigger challenge for the 72nd-ranked Latvian. She will be up against Cornet, who has a positive win-loss record this year but in general not had a great time on hard courts or indoor courts. She is 13-14 on hard courts and had lost her only previous indoor court match this year before this tournament.
This is why we can expect a close match which Cornet wins in the end.
Tip: Games Handicap Cornet -1.5: 19/20 with Unibet
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