World number 105 Timea Babos will take on the 94th-ranked Varvara Gracheva in the first round of the 2021 WTA Lyon Open on Monday, March 1, with the match likely to begin at around 1 pm local time. Get the live streaming options of this Timea Babos v Varvara Gracheva match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Timea Babos v Varvara Gracheva Head to Head
There have been no previous matches played between Babos and Gracheva before this.
Also Read:
Babos 2-3 in Main Draws This Season
Still early days in the season but it hasn’t been the best of starts for Babos, a former world number 25. After winning all her three qualifiers to make it through to the Australian Open, Babos has won two and lost three main draw matches, including one in the first round of the Phillip Island Open last week.
Going up against Greet Minnen with nothing to choose between the two players – both 10/11 according to the bookmakers – Babos would be surprised by how easily she fell to a 6-2, 6-2 defeat in that opener.
Before that she had won her opening round clashes at the Gippsland Trophy and the Australian Open but failed to advance beyond that.
And it’s not just about this season alone. Last year, the Hungarian had featured in 11 tournaments, some of which were also at the ITF level, and did not win a single main draw encounter. Yep, that’s correct, Babos was left without a win in the main draws of competitions last season even on the ITF circuit.
She will need a huge turnaround here.
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Gracheva Moving Towards Career-Best
While Gracheva hasn’t done so much better than Babos this year, having won and lost three matches, the 20-year-old is a fast-improving player who is now looking to go past her best ever ranking of 89th in the world. A couple of wins in this competition should allow that.
Unlike her opponent, Gracheva’s losses in the second round of the Yarra Valley Classic, Australian Open and Phillip Island Trophy have all come against way higher-ranked opponents too.
She fell to Marketa Vondrousova in the second round at the first competition, followed it up with a fighting defeat in the second competition to Veronika Kudermetova and then lost to Daria Kasatkina in the second round of her later appearance.
Gracheva’s rise into the top 100 had begun in 2019 when she won five ITF titles, but it’s worth noting she is more a clay court specialist.
Babos v Gracheva Prediction and Tip
On the one side is a woefully out of form player and on the other is one who hasn’t done too well on hard court surfaces and finding her feet at the top level. We think this could be an evenly fought battle but one that Babos wins.
Tip: Babos to win: 11/10 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Lyon Open will be played from March 1 to 7. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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