Dubai Tennis Championships 2022: Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi

Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2022

Date: 14 February 2022

Round: First round (Round of 32)

Venue: Dubai, UAE

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $703,580

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi preview

The first round of the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships will see two big-hitting players - Petra Kvitova and Camila Giorgi - face off in an exciting encounter on Monday.

Kvitova, a former finalist at this tournament, comes into the Middle Eastern swing with a dismal 2-4 win-loss record for the season. She made a second-round exit in her last outing, at St. Petersburg, and will be looking to turn over a new leaf in Dubai.

Camila Giorgi at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Giorgi, much like her opponent, made an early exit in St. Petersburg. The Italian suffered a tight three-set defeat at the hands of Ekaterina Alexanderova in the first round itself.

In the form of Kvitova - who possesses a power-packed game not very different from her own - Giorgi faces another difficult opening-round opponent.

Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi head-to-head

Camila Giorgi leads Petra Kvitova in the current head-to-head with a slender 2-1 margin. The Italian got the better of Kvitova in relatively straightforward fashion at last year's Montreal event, winning 6-4, 6-4.

Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi prediction

Petra Kvitova will need to reel in her unforced errors.

Petra Kvitova's worrisome form would, at first glance, signal an easy outing for Camila Giorgi. The latter is within touching distance of a career high ranking of No. 26, and would fancy her chances of going deep in Dubai.

But Kvitova does possess the weapons needed to turn a slow season around. Last year she came into the Middle Eastern swing with a similarly horrid start to the season, but strung together a fabulous week in Doha to walk away with a 28th career title.

The southpaw also showed flashes of her best tennis in her first-round win over Jule Neimeier in St. Petersburg. That said, she will need to turn in a much-improved performance to put up a fight against Giorgi.

Kvitova will have to pay particular attention to her serve against such an aggressive opponent, and maintain her focus throughout the encounter. Both women have a high-risk game, so playing the big points well would be especially important.

At the end of the day though, the Czech possesses a wealth of experience that few can match. If she can keep a check on her unforced errors, she should be able to eventually outwit Giorgi.

Prediction: Petra Kvitova to win in two tight sets.