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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs (Q) Sofia Kenin
Date: February 4, 2025
Tournament: Abu Dhabi Open 2025
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Prize Money: $1,064,510
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin preview
Sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will face former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open 2025.
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Pavlyuchenkova started the new year on a losing note as she suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of the Adelaide International. Despite the less-than-ideal start, she bounced back with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, her fourth at the venue.
Pavlyuchenkova needed three sets to get past Yuan Yue and Anastasia Potapova in the first two rounds of the Melbourne Major. She dropped only three games against Laura Siegemund in the third round and upset 18th seed Donna Vekic in the fourth round. She gave World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka a tough fight in the quarterfinals but ultimately lost to her in three sets.
Kenin reached the second round of the ASB Classic and the quarterfinals of the Hobart International before the Australian Open. She was dumped out in the first round of the season's first Major by Coco Gauff. Given her current ranking, she had to contest the qualifying rounds in Abu Dhabi.
Kenin beat Aoi Ito and Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets to book her spot in the main draw. She was also the defending champion in doubles here but went out in the first round this time. She teamed up with Magda Linette and lost to the Czech duo of Vondrousova and Laura Samsonova.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin head-to-head
Kenin leads Pavlyuchenkova 2-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the China Open 2019 in straight sets.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Sofia Kenin prediction
After a disappointing outing at the Australian Open, Kenin played some solid tennis to come through the qualifying rounds and advance to the main draw of the Abu Dhabi Open. She has a 3-3 record at the main draw level this year.
Pavlyuchenkova had another deep run Down Under and will look to build upon that result with a strong performance in the Middle East. She has a 4-2 record this year, and both of her losses have come against Major champions- Sabalenka and Vondrousova.
Additionally, Pavlyuchenkova has lost both of her prior matches against Kenin, also a Major champion. The latter's two wins came when she was ascending to the top of the game. She beat her in Beijing in 2019 and won the Australian Open a few months later.
Kenin is a shadow of herself these days, though she has pulled off an upset or two since her fall from the upper echelon of the sport. However, she's yet to beat a top 30 player this year, which makes Pavlyuchenkova the favorite to win this contest.
Pick: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win in three sets.
