Istanbul 2021: Ana Bogdan vs Barbora Krejcikova preview, head-to-head & prediction | TEB BNP Paribas Championship

Match details

Fixture: Ana Bogdan vs Barbora Krejcikova

Date: 22 April 2021

Tournament: TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Istanbul, Turkey

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Clay

Prize money: $235,238

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport

Ana Bogdan vs Barbora Krejcikova preview

Ana Bogdan opened her TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship campaign with a comfortable first-round win over Japan's Nao Hibino on Monday. The Romanian delivered a solid performance and was especially impressive on return, breaking her opponent on five occasions en route to a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Awaiting Bogdan in the next round is fifth seed Barbora Krejcikova.

Barbora Krejcikova

Krejcikova has been playing some great tennis in recent months. Her runs at last year's French Open and this year's Dubai Championships have helped her rise up the rankings rapidly; she is currently at No. 42, just four spots shy of her career-high of 38.

The Czech has also managed to make a strong start to the claycourt season here in Istanbul. Having come from a set down to oust Cagla Buyukakcay in the last round, she would now be feeling good about her game.

Ana Bogdan vs Barbora Krejcikova head-to-head

Ana Bogdan will look take on the role of the aggressor in this match-up.

Ana Bogdan leads Barbora Krejcikova in the head-to-head by a slender 1-0 margin. The Romanian took a straight-sets win over her opponent in their only previous meeting, which came at the 2020 Dubai Tennis Championships.

Ana Bogdan vs Barbora Krejcikova prediction

The considerable gap in the rankings notwithstanding, this is a fairly well-balanced match-up. Ana Bogdan is a clean striker of the ball, but injuries have prevented her from playing at her best since a breakout 2018 season.

The Romanian has shown a few signs of revival in recent months, having beaten Anastasija Sevastova and stretched Sofia Kenin to her limit. Bogdan still needs to find a way to be consistent over longer periods, but she definitely has a power-packed game that can trouble even the best.

Barbora Krejcikova, on the other hand, isn't the biggest striker of the ball, but she makes up for that with her variety and nifty front-court skills. The onus will, therefore, be on Bogdan to try and find a way to handle the different shots coming at her. If she is able to do that and find her footing on the baseline, the Romanian could well extend her head-to-head against Krejcikova.

Prediction: Ana Bogdan to win in three sets.