Fourth seed Donna Vekic begins her quest for a second Nottingham title as she opens up against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the first round of the 2023 Nottingham Open on Monday, June 12. Get the predictions and odds of this Donna Vekic v Cristina Bucsa match along with its preview, head-to-head, and tips here.
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Donna Vekic v Cristina Bucsa Head to Head
22nd-ranked Donna Vekic and 70th-ranked Cristina Bucsa have no previous history.
This will be their first career meeting on tour.
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Vekic Hunting for Second Nottingham Title
Donna Vekic’s second career title came on the lawns in Nottingham in 2017, as a 20-year-old, defeating Britain’s Johanna Konta from a set down in the final.
She would return to the final a couple of years later, losing to Caroline Garcia, this time it was her turn to blow a one-set lead. Her subsequent two trips since have not been particularly memorable.
Vekic lost to Nina Stojanovic two years ago in straight sets and Harriet Dart beat her in last year’s edition. So the Croatian star knows the importance of a fast start when she lines up against Cristina Bucsa.
Vekic touched the world’s top 20 earlier this season. She played splendidly in the first half of the year, making a second Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, and won her fourth WTA title in Monterrey.
She was relatively quiet on red clay where her best result came in Rome, losing in the round of 16 to Iga Swiatek.
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Bucsa Winless in Five
Cristina Bucsa had a rough time getting any sort of momentum on clay – her favorite surface, compiling a 2-6 record.
Bucsa lost five matches in a row including her last defeat, a 6-4 6-0 drubbing against eventual champion Iga Swiatek in Paris.
The Spaniard, ranked 70 in the world is not far off from her career high of 66, but has not won a match on tour since mid-April when she beat Tamara Korpatsch in Stuttgart.
What makes Bucsa’s task to turn the tide seemingly impossible in Nottingham is that she doesn’t have any experience at the top level playing on grass.
She has played once on the WTA tour on grass and that incidentally was at this event last year where she came through qualifying and lost to Shuai Zhang in straight sets.
Vekic v Bucsa Prediction and Tip
This should be a routine win for Vekic not just on the basis of her higher ranking status but her immense pedigree on grass. Bucsa is winless in five and we can’t see her getting any success in changing that record here.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Vekic to win: 2/7
- Moderate Risk Tip: Vekic to win in straight sets: 8/11
The 2023 Nottingham Open will be played from June 12 to 18. 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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