Some of the first-round action at the 2021 WTA Budapest Grand Prix will see Ana Bogdan take on Varvara Lepchenko and Aliaksandra Sasnovich play Timea Babos. Get the live streaming options along the predictions, preview and head to head for these matches along with Tamara Korpatsch v Olga Danilovic and Aliona Bolsova v Dalma Galfi.
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Ana Bogdan v Varvara Lepchenko Preview
This is the first meeting between the two ladies on the WTA Tour.
Varvara Lepchenko, with a win-loss tally of 17-9, has had a comparatively better season than the number five seed Ana Bogdan (9-10).
The 35-year-old American had a pretty promising spell on clay this year. Most notably, she reached the second round in the French Open as a qualifier, beating Shuai Zhang in the opener. That stint allowed her to pick 110 ranking points – the most Lepchenko has gathered in any WTA event this season.
Additionally, she also won an ITF title in Boca Raton, Florida. That said, she last played in the Nordea Open last week where she fell in the first round to Nuria Parrizas Diaz.
On the other hand, Bogdan – currently ranked World No. 98 – will be playing in her first event since her opening-round exit in Wimbledon to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Before that, the Romanian featured in the Roland Garros where she reached the third round to deliver her best result in Paris. Bogdan was also a quarterfinalist in the Istanbul Cup.
Bogdan may have been slightly more consistent than Lepchenko on the whole and consequently, will start as the odds-on favourite. However, both players have shown a strong tendency to incur early-round defeats, making this a game that can go either way.
Bogdan v Lepchenko Tip
Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Timea Babos Preview
Babos holds a 2-1 lead over Sasnovich, last beating her in the Cincinnati Open back in 2015. Sasnovich’s sole win over the Hungarian came in the 2017 Kremlin Cup.
World No. 7 on the doubles circuit, Timea Babos is a formidable doubles player with a lot of winning experience. The eight-time doubles Grand Slam finalist is playing in her home tournament and will fancy her chances of delivering a good run. After all, one of the only three singles titles that she has picked up came right here in Budapest in 2017.
That said, by the looks of her season so far, she is in for a tough match. Barring her second-round appearance in the Australian Open earlier this year, Babos has failed to move past the early rounds in every other WTA Tournament. Moreover, the 28-year-old hasn’t picked up a singles, main-draw WTA win since the Lyon Open in March.
As for Sasnovich, she is coming off a third-round run in Wimbledon where she lost to Angelique Kerber in three sets. That was the best run of her inconsistent season as the Belarusian looks to find some rhythm here in Budapest. Starting as the number six seed, she had a pretty consistent clay swing – third round in WTA 125K Series event in Saint-Malo and a quarterfinal feat in the Serbia Open.
Sasnovich v Babos Tip
Babos to win in three sets: 3/1 (bet365)
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Tamara Korpatsch v Olga Danilovic Preview
The two players have met just once – the meeting took place in a low-tier tournament in 2019 on clay courts. Danilovic won that match 6-1, 6-3.
World No. 137 Tamara Korpatsch last played in the Hamburg European Open – a clay tournament where she fell to the 21-year-old Jule Niemeier in three sets in the second round. Prior to that, the German played in the Bad Homburg Open where she fell to Laura Siegemend in the same round. These were the best performances that the 26-year-old has delivered in 2021 to date.
Korpatsch’s entire season is dotted with these early-round defeats. Despite playing in a mix of ITF and WTA events, Korpatsch has never quite managed to leave a mark on the tour.
Danilovic, ranked not that far behind Korpatsch, reached the main draw in Budapest after winning her two qualifying matches over the weekend. This marks her first main draw event since the Serbia Ladies Open, where she fell in the opener to Kamilla Rakhimova.
The highlight of her season, however, was undoubtedly the Australian Open where the Serbian reached the second round, all the way from the qualifiers. Apart from these events, Danilovic has had a somewhat similar season to Korpatsch’s.
This is another game that can go either way but Korpatsch holds the edge here on account of her superior experience.
Korpatsch v Danilovic Tip
Korpatsch to win: 1/1 (bet365)
Aliona Bolsova v Dalma Galfi Preview
This is the first meeting between the two ladies on the WTA Tour.
23-year-old Aliona Bolsova is coming in this match after a quarterfinal appearance in the WTA Challenger event in Bastad. While she ultimately fell to Rebecca Peterson, it was the Spaniard’s second such run on clay this year. Back in May, she had a similar spell in Saint-Malo where she reached the quarters before falling to Harmony Tan.
As for her time in the main WTA events, the best Bolsova has managed is reaching the second round in Bogota and the Yarra Valley Classic.
On the other hand, local favourite Dalma Galfi is coming off a brilliant run on the ITF circuit. She was the finalist in ITF Contrexeville last week and the champion in Denain in June – both being clay tournaments. The 22-year-old was also the runner-up in ITF Prague.
Despite a lack of WTA Tour experience, Galfi has had a pretty decent year so far. With many wins (and trophies) racked up on clay courts, she will fancy her chances of reaching deep in the Budapest Open.
Bolsova v Galfi Tip
Galfi to win in straight sets: 2/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 Nottingham Open will be played from June 6-13. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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