WTA Tournament in Eastbourne, Final, Saturday, 25.06.2022
Bad Homburg and Eastbourne, those are the two WTA venues on Saturday! One last time before Wimbledon the ladies want to grab a title here. In Eastbourne, two players will meet for the ninth time.
When will Jelena Ostapenko crack the top 10? The 25-year-old is looking to follow up her February title in Dubai with a second trophy in 2022. No question, in Eastbourne she shows from match to match that it can really only go through her.
Things didn’t go so well in Birmingham, where she took the doubles title, but now the Latvian finally seems to be in her top form. Before she opens at Wimbledon against Oceane Dodin, the aim is to win the Eastbourne final.
After her 6-4, 6-4 against Ajla Tomljanovic, her results got even stronger. First, she took out Madison Keys. Here the match was already over after a 6-3 in the first set, her opponent retired.
A little later, she also won clearly against Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2. Ostapenko had to beat these three opponents with her class, of course, but the most demanding one, Camila Giorgi, was waiting for her in the semi-finals.
The world No. 14 did not show any weakness here either, winning 6-2, 6-2 in quick succession. She won 75% of her points on average on her first serve and only allowed four breaks in the entire tournament.
The direct comparison against Petra Kvitova is interesting. The score is 4:4, so the two know each other well. The most recent duel took place in Duabi, where Ostapenko triumphed in the end. A true marathon, which went to the younger woman 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.
But now it is time for the final, the duo has never faced each other in a final. Ostapenko, who won her first title on grass in Birmingham a year ago, is the favourite with the bookies.
1.75 to 2.10 at Bwin, the single bets are worth it to pick up a sports betting bonus at the same time. Petra Kvitova is, of course, the most experienced of the two, having seen it all in her career.
The Czech is currently working her way back up the world rankings. Ranked 31st, not entirely pleasing for the former runner-up in the competition (eleven years ago). Since April 2019, her only win was in Doha last year, and her recent title tally is expandable.
Five tournaments and only a single win, Kvitova’s performances before the tournament in Eastbourne were far from exhilarating. A few days ago, she lost 6-7, 2-6 to Beatriz Haddad Maria.
She beat exactly this opponent in the Eastbourne semi-finals on Friday, 7-6, 6-4. Before that, Harriet Dart, Katie Boutler and Donna Vekic were not particularly great competitors.
Neither Vekic nor Hart or Haddid Maria were able to break, only Boutler was able to do something here. The 32-year-old’s service is strong, thanks in part to her height of 1.82 metres.
Kvitova has already collected four titles on grass in her long career. Where? That’s interesting. Twice at Wimbledon and twice at Birmingham, so she combines her strengths particularly well on the island!
My Kvitova Ostapenko Tip
For both Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko, a title in the last three years is not a given.
I was much more convinced by Ostapenko’s results. Since she could also win the direct duel this year, I see her narrowly ahead on Saturday and bet:
Ostapenko beats Kvitova!
