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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Petra Martic vs (8) Anastasia Potapova
Date: February 12, 2023
Tournament: Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2023
Round: Final
Venue: TipsArena Linz, Austria
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt
Match timing: Not before 3pm local time, 2pm GMT, 9am EST, 7.30pm IST
Prize money: $259,303
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Petra Martic vs Anastasia Potapova preview
Sixth-seed Petra Martic will square off against eighth-seeded Anastasia Potapova in the fight for the Linz 2023 title on Sunday.
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Martic, a former French Open quarterfinalist, will aim for the third title of her career following wins at Istanbul in 2019 and Lausanne in 2022. Since that title win in Lausanne, the Croat went on to reach two quarterfinals in Warsaw and Tokyo in what was a strong second half of last season.
However, she hasn't managed to make much of an impact this year prior to arriving in Linz. The 32-year-old had a shabby 3-4 win-loss record for the year entering the WTA 250 event, where she caught fire.
The sixth seed accounted for the likes of former French Open quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck and rising star Clara Tauson to set up a semifinal showdown with top seed Maria Sakkari.
In a match that had frequent momentum shifts, the Croat got the better of the seventh-ranked player 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to claim her eighth top-10 victory. The fact that this was her first win over the Greek in three meetings will give her tremendous confidence ahead of the final.
Potapova, meanwhile, has had a prolific junior career, winning the Wimbledon title and ascending to the pinnacle of the world rankings. The 21-year-old quickly made it to a couple of finals on the WTA tour in 2018 following her introduction to the senior circuit.
However, achieving consistency has been a major challenge for the Russian. An ankle surgery in 2020 didn't help her cause either.
It's only since 2022 that the youngster has started to make her presence felt on the tour. Potapova won her maiden career title in Istanbul after having started her campaign as a qualifier. She also reached the final in Prague, where she went down against Marie Bouzkova.
Potapova also made the semifinals in Lausanne, Hamburg and Cluj-Napoca to break into the top 50 of the world rankings.
It has taken the World No. 44 a few weeks to find her footing this year. Having made the final eight in Lyon last week, she has now performed even better this week to reach her fifth career final at Linz. Potapova has scalped the likes of former French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova and 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Jule Niemeier along the way.
Petra Martic vs Anastasia Potapova head-to-head
Martic and Potapova are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head. Martic came through 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their first meeting at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. Potapova turned the tables on her with a 6-2, 6-3 win in their most recent face-off in Istanbul last year.
Petra Martic vs Anastasia Potapova odds
(Odds will be updated once they are available)
Petra Martic vs Anastasia Potapova prediction
With both players having an aggressive style of play, this could well go the distance.
However, Martic has a slight edge in terms of experience and in the serving department as well. The World No. 34 has already struck 27 aces this week, with eight of them coming during her dismantling of Sakkari in the semifinal.
The Croat can also mix things up with her backhand slices and deft dropshots. Because of her well-rounded game, Martic continues to remain a threat to any of the top stars.
She will look to bring an all-out approach against the Russian youngster and test her movement all over the court. Potapova has speed and raw power and could make forays into the net when needed as well. But having played three-setters in each of her four matches so far this week, it remains to be seen how much energy she still has left in the tank.
Once Potapova's intensity level dips, it could be smooth sailing for the Croat from thereon.
Pick: Petra Martic to win in three sets.
