Former finalist Sloane Stephens will be up against World No. 41 Varvara Gracheva in the second round of the 2023 French Open on Wednesday, June 1. Get the predictions and odds of this Sloane Stephens v Varvara Gracheva match along with its preview, head-to-head, and tips here.
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Sloane Stephens v Varvara Gracheva Head to Head
Varvara Gracheva has a 2-1 record over Sloane Stephens in the head-to-head. All three meetings were played on hard courts including two in 2023, in which they’ve split wins. Stephens won in Merida and Gracheva took their bout in Austin.
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Stephens Demolishes Former No. 1 Pliskova
In a marquee first-round match that would be fit to grace the latter stages of big tournaments, it was Sloane Stephens who had to do battle against 16th seed Karolina Pliskova.
Under the scorching sun in Court Philippe Chatrier, Stephens made a fabulous start to the match, taking the first set 6-0.
It’s not often a player with one of the best serves in tennis fails to hold for an entire set, but Stephens played Pliskova off the court, with her speedy footwork, and was aided by Pliskova’s serve malfunctioning throughout. The Czech landed 43% first serves – her lowest in a set this season.
Things began to improve marginally in the second set for Pliskova who got on the board for the first time in the match and even briefly led 4-3 with a break of serve. But Stephens was quick to shut the gates racing to take three successive games to win the match.
It was an impressive start to Roland Garros for Stephens who fired 19 winners to just 10 unforced errors and had great success approaching the net, winning 9 of 13 points.
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Gracheva Wins in Three
Varvara Gracheva had a less harrowing match on paper, but took more time and needed a third set to beat Hungary’s Dalma Galfi.
Gracheva who arrived in Paris at a career-high No. 41 took an hour and 56 minutes to win 6-4 2-6 6-1 and advanced into the second round for the third year in a row.
The first set was the longest of the three, taking 44 minutes, and featured one break of serve which arrived right at the very end to clinch the set, with Gracheva breaking from 15-40.
Galfi shook off that disappointment and started putting deep returns and making Gracheva work her shots from the baseline. That resulted in unforced errors leaking from the Russian’s racket and Galfi was able to level the match with three quick breaks.
But normal service resumed in the third set as the higher-ranked Gracheva regained her composure and accuracy. She saved all four break points in the third set and converted her two on Galfi’s serve.
Stephens v Gracheva Prediction and Tip
They’ve played twice this season on North American hard courts and both matches were very tight. Gracheva has also peaked at a career-high ranking and is not to be taken lightly. Still, Stephens is a beacon of consistency in Paris. It’s the one tournament you can expect total commitment to the cause from the American.
Tips:
- Moderate Risk Tip: Stephens to win: 4/7
The 2023 French Open will be played from May 28 to June 11. 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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