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Match Details
Fixture: (13) Donna Vekic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Date: August 1, 2024
Tournament: Paris Olympics 2024
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
Category: Olympics
Surface: Clay
Live Telecast: USA - NBC, Peacock | UK - Eurosport, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer | Canada - CBC Gem, Radio Canada, Tou.tv | India - JioCinema, Sports18
Donna Vekic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova preview
Croatia's Donna Vekic will face Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics 2024.
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Vekic beat Italy's Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-5 in the first round before securing a 6-3, 6-4 win over Canada's Bianca Andreescu. She defeated USA's Coco Gauff 7-6 (6), 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal date with Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.
Vekic led 5-1 in the first set but Kostyuk fended off a set point and went on a three-game run to make it 5-4. However, the Croat served out the set on her second try to take the set. The Ukrainian stormed back to claim the second set and even the proceedings.
The third set witnessed plenty of drama. Vekic went up a break and then served for the match at 5-4, only for Kostyuk to save a match point and break back. The former broke the latter's serve yet again to go 6-5 up but failed to close out the match a second time and blew another match point.
The set went to a tie-break, where Kostyuk was the first to reach a match point, which she fumbled. Vekic let go of two more match points before finally getting the job done on her fifth one for a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8) win.
Schmiedlova ousted Britain's Katie Boulter and Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets. She needed three sets to get past Italy's Jasmine Paolini and took on reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova from Czechia in the quarterfinals.
Krejcikova overcame a break deficit to make it 4-4 in the first set but Schmiedlova nabbed the next two games to grab the opener. The latter rallied from 2-0 down in the second set as she swept six straight games for a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Donna Vekic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova head-to-head
Vekic leads Schmiedlova 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the Luxembourg Open 2018 in straight sets.
Donna Vekic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Donna Vekic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova prediction
The last time Schmiedlova scored consecutive wins over top 50 players was back in 2015 at the Wuhan Open. She has now beaten 4 players in the top 50 back-to-back for the first time in her career. Her run in Paris is giving flashbacks to Monica Puig's triumph at the Rio Olympics in 2016, who stunned the field to capture the gold medal.
Vekic was pushed to the limits by Kostyuk in her quarterfinal match but gave everything she had to prevail in the end. The last couple of months have been incredible for her. While she suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Wimbledon semifinals, she will be keen to atone for that loss by making the Olympic final.
Schmiedlova is a credible threat on clay, having won two titles on the surface, and reaching the fourth round of last year's French Open. She will also be less tired for this match compared to Vekic, who fought for three hours to down Kostyuk. However, the Croat is a fighter through and through, and her recent performances tip the scales in her favor in this match-up.
Pick: Donna Vekic to win in three sets.
