Parma 2021: Sara Errani vs Ana Bogdan preview, head-to-head & prediction | Emilia-Romagna Open

Match details

Fixture: Sara Errani vs Ana Bogdan

Date: 18 May 2021

Tournament: Emilia-Romagna Open 2021

Round: First round (Round of 32)

Venue: Rome, Italy

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: $235,238

Match timing: Approx. 1 pm local time, 11 am GMT, 7 am EST

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

Sara Erani vs Ana Bogdan preview

Sara Errani is set to open her 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open campaign with a first-round encounter against Romania's Ana Bogdan on Tuesday.

Errani - who was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the tournament - has been struggling with her form over the last couple of years. The Italian did make a promising start to the 2021 season though, and will be hopeful of another big result at her home event.

Ana Bogdan

Bogdan, meanwhile, had her breakthrough season in 2018. In addition to making it to the third round of the Australian Open, the Romanian also added a couple of WTA semifinals to her resume that year.

However, recurrent injuries have prevented Bogdan from maintaining her level since then.

The 28-year-old holds a 8-7 win-loss record in 2021, but has eked out some big wins - over the likes of Anastasija Sevastova, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. The latter two victories came on clay, and would have given her some much-needed confidence.

Sara Errani vs Ana Bogdan head-to-head

Sara Errani will be hopeful of putting up a strong showing at her home event.

This is set to be the first career meeting between Sara Errani and Ana Bogdan, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Sara Errani vs Ana Bogdan preview

The encounter will witness a clash of contrasting styles of tennis. While Ana Bogdan will look to take control of the baseline using her big groundstrokes, Sara Errani is likely to rely on her guile and variety to score points.

Errani - a former finalist at Roland Garros - has had her fair share of troubles over the last few seasons. Many of the issues plaguing her game stem from her serving woes, and against an aggressive returner like Bogdan, that shot could once again come under pressure.

Bogdan herself will need to make some adjustments to adapt to the slice and drop shots coming at her from the other side of the net. But if she can maintain a certain level of pressure in the return games and stay solid behind her groundstrokes, the Romanian might end up proving too strong for Errani.

Prediction: Ana Bogdan to win in three sets.