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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Maria Sakkari vs Anhelina Kalinina
Tournament: Rothesay International 2023
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Eastbourne, Great Britain
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Outdoor grass
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video & BBC Digital
Maria Sakkari vs Anhelina Kalinina preview
Sixth seed Maria Sakkari opens her Eastbourne campaign in a tricky first-round showdown with World No. 26 Anhelina Kalinina.
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The Greek's grasscourt season started on the wrong foot in Nottingham, where she was ousted in the second round by French veteran Alize Cornet, but she turned things around the very next week in Berlin.
Sakkari first avenged her defeat to Cornet with a commanding straight-sets win en route the semifinals. Her spirited run was finally ended by Donna Vekic in the last-four stage in a tight two-setter.
Sakkari, a five-time semifinalist this season, will be eager to keep the momentum going in Eastbourne.
Anhelina Kalinina, meanwhile, had her breakthrough run in Rome this year, finishing as the runner-up to Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. Along the way, she toppled 11th seed Veronika Kudermetova, 12th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and 19th seed Madison Keys. The sizzling performances in the Italian capital catapulted her to a career-high No. 25 in the world rankings.
However, since then, the Ukrainian has gone off the boil. Now placed at 26th, the Hobart quarterfinalist is coming into Eastbourne on the back of two consecutive Round-of-16 defeats on grass at Nottingham and Birmingham.
Kalinina will hope to draw inspiration from her win over Sakkari last year right at this venue and go for an encore.
Maria Sakkari vs Anhelina Kalinina head-to-head
Sakkari and Kalinina are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head, having split their two meetings so far. Kalinina won their first meeting 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 at Eastbourne last year, while Sakkari exacted revenge with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win at Indian Wells earlier this year.
Maria Sakkari vs Anhelina Kalinina odds
(Odds will up be updated once they are available)
Maria Sakkari vs Anhelina Kalinina prediction
With both having an aggressive style of play, a lot will depend on how well they serve. Sakkari and Kalinina's last encounter at Indian Wells saw each coughing up eight double faults. Sakkari was marginally the better of the two with six aces against Kalinina's three.
The Greek also played fabulous first-strike tennis, winning 71% of her first-serve points, while the Ukrainian found only 60% success in that department. Sakkari's return was on point, helping her convert five out of 11 break points. That eventually made the difference, as Kalinina converted only three ina tight three-setter.
The World No. 8 has to keep the pressure intact on the Kalinina serve right from the start, otherwise they could have yet another lengthy battle. The Ukrainian hasn't been serving at her best of late and could concede an early opening for the sixth seed if Sakkari keeps pouncing on the returns.
The Greek, meanwhile, played some smart grasscourt tennis in Berlin. Buoyed by her semifinal run, she will be gunning for Eastbourne revenge against Kalinina.
Pick: Maria Sakkari to win in two tight sets.
