Ekaterina Alexandrova, the world number 31, will play lucky loser and world number 134, Astra Sharma of Australia, in the second round of the 2020 French Open. This match will be played on Wednesday, September 30 and could begin at around 12.00 pm local time (11.00 am BST). Get the live streaming options of this Ekaterina Alexandrova v Astra Sharma match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to watch the French Open live streaming online?
- For tennis fans in the UK, Europe, Australia & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here* to watch & bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Get all the other French Open Live Streaming Options Here
[the_ad id=”14063″]
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Astra Sharma Head to Head
The pair have never played each other before. This will be the first match between the two 25-year-olds.
Also Read:
Alexandrova Faces Second Consecutive Australian
Alexandrova is into the second round at Roland Garros for the second time in her career, after beating another Australian, Maddison Inglis, the world number 124, in their first round match on Sunday.
It is not an encounter which will live long in the memory – both players made many errors and struggled to hold the serve, but, in the end, Alexandrova held her nerve better.
The tone for the match was set right from the start when Inglis dropped her serve in the very first game. Three games later, Alexandrova dropped her own serve, but the Russian restored her advantage by breaking straight back. And another service drop from the Australian gave her the first set.
The pattern continued in the second set, with the pair swapping service breaks until the sixth game when Inglis failed to hold again. Alexandrova promptly dropped her own serve again, but then broke Inglis once more, and was finally able to close out the match.
She will need to improve her serve dramatically if she wants to go deep into this tournament, also because she isn’t one of the best on clay, and had come into the tournament on the back of two wins and four defeats on this surface.
[the_ad id=”30344″]
Lucky Loser Sharma Shocks Blinkova
Sharma, ranked 134th in the world, was lucky to be in the first round at all. She was knocked out in the third round of the qualifying competition by the Italian, Martina Trevisan, but then got her chance when another competitor withdrew.
And she took full advantage of her unexpected opportunity with a surprise win over Anna Blinkova of Russia, a woman ranked 75 places higher than her in the world, in their first round match on Sunday.
Sharma began well, breaking the Blinkova serve in the third game of the first set, and then secured a double service break to establish a clear lead. She then dropped her own serve, but was able to break back straight away to clinch the first set.
Blinkova thought she had a chance when she broke the Sharma serve in the first game of the second set; two more service breaks enabled her to level the match.
In the third set, Sharma raced into a 4-1 lead, only to squander it, as the Russian reeled off four games in a row.
However, serving for the match, Blinkova faltered, Sharma broke her serve to draw level, and then she broke the Russian serve once more to advance to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, guaranteeing her the biggest pay day in her career to date.
Alexandrova v Sharma Prediction and Tip
Sharma benefited from good fortune to take her place in the first-round and took full advantage of her luck to beat Blinkova. But against a player ranked more than 100 places above her in the world, it is hard to see her progressing further, even if Alexandrova does need to improve her serving.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 7/4 (bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The French Open 2020 will be played from September 27 to October 11. You can watch & bet on the French Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment