World number 85 Marta Kostyuk squares off against the 143rd-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, in the first round of the 2021 WTA Istanbul Open on Tuesday, April 20. Get the live streaming options of this Marta Kostyuk v Kamilla Rakhimova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Marta Kostyuk v Kamilla Rakhimova Head to Head
No previous matches have been played between Kostyuk and Rakhimova before this match in Istanbul.
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Kostyuk Hoping for Solid Start on Clay
Kostyuk, ranked 85th in the world, has mustered a decent 6-4 win/loss record in 2021. But, there’s no denying the fact that she hasn’t wasn’t able to find her groove, during the early part of the season.
In fact, she was struggling with her game a lot, failing to put enough first serves in play, resulting in a string of losses in Melbourne and Miami.
However, the Ukrainian will be eager to turn things around on her favourite surface, clay, and will be looking forward to employ her A-game on the surface. Certainly, whatever little success, she has achieved during her career, it has largely come on the red dirt.
Kostyuk, who moves really well on the red dirt, is a fine retriever of the tennis ball and can wear down her opponents in long rallies with remarkable consistency.
Can Kostyuk, who has never won a WTA title in her career, accomplish that feat in Istanbul? It is an extremely tricky question to answer right now, because nobody knows how good Kostyuk can be on a tennis court. Indeed, Kostyuk’s ability to grind hard and long could decide her fate in the tournament as nothing comes easy in this sport anymore.
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Rakhimova Hoping to Make Her Mark on the WTA Tour
Kostyuk’s rival in the first round of the WTA tournament in Istanbul is an unknown Russian Kamilla Rakhimova. As she is ranked 143rd in the world, very little is known about the Russian.
However, the 19-year-old has done exceptionally well in Turkey as she has come through two tough rounds of qualifiers to book her place in the main draw of the event.
Rakhimova, who has a fine 10-6 win/loss record in 2021, did really well in St. Petersburg last week as she reached the second round of the tournament there. That run became even more impressive as it came after winning successive matches in the qualifying stages.
But, the biggest advantage for Rakhimova in any contest at the moment is the fact, that there’s not much that her opponents know about her game. Even if they finally get to know something about her game, when the players warm-up, it won’t make too much a difference as she may hold on to the biggest strengths of her game, until the actual match is in play.
Kostyuk v Rakhimova Prediction and Tip
Kostyuk is expected to accomplish a comprehensive victory in this encounter, considering her opponent Rakhimova is ranked more than 55 places below her in the WTA rankings. But, as we have seen over the years, such rankings don’t matter in these kind of first round matches, so expect this match to last the distance.
Tip: Kostyuk to win in three sets: 3/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Istanbul Open will be played from April 19 to 25. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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