No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova will take on Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday, August 31 and will kick-start the proceedings at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at 12 noon local time (or 5 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Karolina Pliskova v Anhelina Kalinina match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Karolina Pliskova v Anhelina Kalinina Head to Head
This will be the first meeting between the World No. 3 Pliskova and World No. 145 Kalinina.
Also Read:
Pliskova Eyeing Maiden Grand Slam Success
A former World No. 1, 28-year-old Karolina Pliskova is powerful, aggressive and a winner of 16 WTA singles titles. But there is still a major accomplishment missing from her CV, and it is that achievement which will define her greatness in years to come: A grand slam success.
She came very close to winning one four years ago at this very venue, but was beaten by Germany’s Angelique Kerber in a tough three-set final. The two could once again be facing each other, this time in the Round of 16, if they safely get through their earlier rounds.
For Pliskova, the opener against Kalinina shouldn’t be much of a trouble, but a potential second-round matchup with 32nd-seed Caroline Garcia could be real test of her form (Remember she is 0-1 since tennis resumed in August, losing in straight sets to Russia’s Veronica Kudermetova in the Round of 32 of the Cincinnati Open).
Having started the year on a high, by winning the Brisbane International title, where she beat Allison Riske in the quarterfinal, Naomi Osaka in the semifinal and Madison Keys in the final, Pliskova couldn’t live up to the expectations in the next three tournaments, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Australian Open, and exiting from Dubai and Qatar early before tennis hit a pause due to the pandemic.
Coming into the tournament with an 8-4 win-loss record in 2020, Pliskova will be hoping to break the Grand Slam jinx this year. And she has a good chance of doing that as well, as World No. 1 and 2 Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep, respectively, have withdrawn from the tournament over COVID-19 concerns and Bianca Andreescu is not defending her title due to lack of preparation because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The non-availability of players like Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic further depletes the field, but the Czech will still have to deal with a few tough opponents on her way to her first title.
Looking at the potential matchups, she could be facing Croatia’s No. 8 seed Petra Martic in the last eight stage and fourth-seeded Naomi Osaka in the semifinal.
Since reaching the U.S. Open final in 2016, Pliskova made two successive quarterfinals in New York before being knocked out of the Round of 16 by eventual champion Andreescu in last year’s event. We will have to wait to see how deep she goes this year, but the first-round match should be a good indication of how well she is prepared to make the long run.
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Can Kalinina Put Up a Fight?
Six years ago, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina was the girls’ singles runner-up at the U.S. Open. Since then the World No. 145 has won 10 singles ITF titles.
The right-hander has, however, struggled to get through the qualifiers at the majors, but she did clear the first hurdle in her only main draw appearance at a grand slam two years ago in Flushing Meadows. Her joy was short-lived though, as she was beaten by Sloane Stephens in the second round.
Kalinina, who finished runner-up in Memphis at an ITF event earlier this year, enters the tournament with a 7-6 win-loss record in 2020.
Karolina Pliskova v Anhelina Kalinina Prediction & Tip
The Czech is expected to breeze past her first-round opponent in straight sets.
Tip: Pliskova to win in straight sets: 1/2 (bet365)
The US Open 2020 will be played from August 31 to September 13. You can watch & bet on the US Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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