World number 32 and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur will be up against the 37th-ranked Barbora Strycova in the first round of the 2020 WTA Ostrava Open on Monday, October 19. The exact timing of the match is yet to be determined. Get the live streaming options of this Ons Jabeur v Barbora Strycova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Ons Jabeur v Barbora Strycova Head to Head
This will be the second time Jabeur and Strycova face off in a competitive match with their first meeting having come in 2017 in Wuhan. That first round encounter was won by Strycova in straight sets.
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A fourth round showing at the French Open might have even been bettered had it not been for a sterling Danielle Collins surprising Jabeur at that stage.
Jabeur, who had earlier made it to the quarterfinal at the Australian Open, has had a breakout year which has seen her improve to 32nd in the ranking – with a career-best of 31st this year too – and the aim would now be to break into the top 30.
In order to be able to do that, a solid performance at this tournament in Ostrava would be a must given the pedigree of the field involved. Jabeur, despite her ranking, isn’t seeded in this tournament, an indicator of the number of top players who have signed up for this tournament.
Speaking of indoor hard courts, the conditions for this competition, Jabeur hasn’t won a match on it since 2018. Last season, she played only at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and was bundled out in the first round following a stunning march into the final of the same tournament in 2018 as a qualifier.
There, she had beaten Sloane Stephens, Anett Kontaveit and Anastasija Sevastova before going down to Daria Kasatkina. That was two years ago, now she is a better player and would be aiming for something similar. First up, is an opponent who is eight years her senior and not too far behind on the rankings.
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Strycova Looking to Turn Things
Like Jabeur, Strycova hasn’t won a match on indoor hard court surface since 2018 having played in Linz in 2019 and gotten knocked out by Alize Cornet in the opener.
Unlike Jabeur, however, Strycova has had a very ordinary year on the tour, having participated in eight tournaments across clay and hard courts and not won more than a match at either of them.
Her inability to string together two wins in a row has been an issue since her career-best showing at the 2019 Wimbledon where she had surprised a few with her march into the semifinal. Since then, in the 14 tournaments she has played, there have been eight opening round exits and six second round ousters.
What would bother her is a many of those defeats have come to players ranked lower than her, making it a difficult grind back. Against Jabeur, who has shown what she is capable of when she sees an opponent’s weakness, it would be tough to expect her to carve out a win.
Jabeur v Strycova Prediction and Tip
Jabeur is 2/3 to win this as opposed to 13/10 for a Strycova win and we would happily take those odds for the Tunisian.
Tip: Sakkari to win in straight sets: 5/6 (bet365)
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The Cologne Open 2020 will be played from October 12 to 18. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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