Second seed Sloane Stephens of the U.S. will meet Hungarian qualifier Tímea Babos in the second round of the 2023 WTA Rabat Open on Wednesday, May 24. Get the predictions and odds of this Sloane Stephens v Tímea Babos match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sloane Stephens v Tímea Babos Head to Head
Stephens has won both their previous meetings, one was in Strassbourg in 2012 and the other at the Australian Open in 2019.
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Stephens Sees Off Zvonareva
Second seed Sloane Stephens got her Rabat campaign off to a good start as she ousted Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in straight sets.
The American, who won the WTA 125 in Saint Malo earlier this month, improved her season record on clay to 8-3 across levels. This was however the world no. 35’s third main draw win at the tour level. She had won her first round matches in Charleston and Rome but had fallen in the second round in both the tournaments.
The 30-year-old, who had a mixed bag run on hard courts earlier this season, was slow off the blocks in the first round, as Zvonareva built a 0-3 lead following an early break. Stephens rallied with two breaks and served for the set at 5-4, but Zvonareva broke again to stay in the set. However, a third break from the American proved to be decisive in the first set.
Stephens dominated the start of the second set, building a 4-0 lead. The Russian wild card succeeded in getting a break back but she couldn’t break again as Stephens won 7-5, 6-4.
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Babos Breezes Past Khromacheva
2016 semifinalist Timea Babos breezed past Russia’s Irina Khromacheva in the first round to extend her unbeaten clay court record to 13-0 in 2023.
However, Tuesday’s victory was the Hungarian’s first win of the season at the tour level.
Ranked no. 237th in the world, the former world no. 25 needed an hour and 22 minutes to beat Khromacheva 6-4, 6-1. While the first set was a tough one with Khromacheva getting back a break twice, the second was a breeze as Babos broke the Russian thrice to advance.
Babos had qualified for the main draw with straight set wins over Ekaterina Yashina and Naiktha Bains.
Her unbeaten record on clay this year has included two lower level ITF titles in Jackson and Alaminos-Larnaca.
Can Babos put up a strong showing against Stephens?
Stephens v Babos Prediction and Tip
Stephens has looked in good touch this month, while Babos, despite enjoying a lot of success at the lower level, is playing her first tour level tournament in a while. Her first round win also came against a lower ranked player. So expect this to be a one-sided affair with Stephens dominating.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Stephens to win: 1/3
- Moderate Risk Tip: Under 20.5 games in the match: 5/6
The 2023 WTA Rabat Open will be played from May 21 to 27. 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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