World number eight Maria Sakkari will be up against the 1103rd-ranked Barbora Strycova in the second round of the 2023 WTA Rome Open on Thursday, May 11. Get the predictions and odds of this Maria Sakkari v Barbora Strycova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Maria Sakkari v Barbora Strycova Head to Head
No previous matches have been played between Sakkari and Strycova.
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Sakkari Returns after Madrid Semis
After having suffered three successive defeats in the lead-up to the Madrid Open, not too many expected Sakkari to run deep in that WTA 1000 competition that began two weeks ago.
Sakkari, however, is made of sterner stuff and she showed what she is made of as the Greek number one made it through to the semifinal in Madrid.
In doing so, Sakkari defeated Paula Badosa and Irina-Camelia Begu before succumbing to the eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka at the last four stage. That win over Badosa was especially good, given that Sakkari had come into the match at 9/5 odds to clinch it.
What now needs to be seen is if Sakkari can maintain the same rhythm in Rome, in a tournament she had made the quarterfinals last year. Sakkari has also been a semifinalist here once before and should hold all the aces against a 37-year-old who won her first competitive match in three years.
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Strycova Surprises Zanevska
In her heyday, Strycova had touched a career-high ranking of 16th in the world but she has now returned to competitive tennis having missed more than two years of the sport and outside the top 1000.
No wonder then that Strycova had started off a distant 3/1 odds against Maryna Zanevska in her first round here match here.
That she won even a set was remarkable but for her to go on to clinch the encounter in three speaks volumes about her determination and fitness. Strycova was on court for nearly two hours in her 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
What made it even better was Strycova was down 0-2 in the deciding set and came back to break her opponent twice, before trading service breaks and serving out the match to 30.
She might not get a lot of chances against Sakkari but expect her to be no pushover.
Sakkari v Strycova Prediction and Tip
Sakkari should not have a lot of issues here as she starts off a 1/14 favourite but Strycova could put up a fight in at least one of the two sets.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Over 17.5 games in the match: 8/11
- Moderate Risk Tip: Sakkari to win AND Over 17.5 games: 20/21
The 2023 WTA Rome Open will be played from May 9 to 21. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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