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Match Details
Fixture: (3) Elena Rybakina vs Alize Cornet
Date: July 6, 2023
Tournament: Wimbledon 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: London, United Kingdom
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £44,700,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports
Elena Rybakina vs Alize Cornet preview
Defending champion Elena Rybakina will take on World No. 74 Alize Cornet in the second round of the 2023 Wimbledon on Thursday.
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Rybakina kicked off her title defense against Shelby Rogers. The Kazakh lost her serve at the start of the first set and was unable to make up for the deficit, thus costing her the opener.
Rybakina recovered quite well from the setback. She dropped just one game in the second set to take it and level the proceedings. She continued to dictate the play, breaking Rogers' serve twice in the third set to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Cornet faced Nao Hibino in the first round here. The former jumped to a 3-0 lead to take command of the first set. She then broke her opponent's serve once again towards the end to claim the set.
Cornet raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set and was on the cusp of victory, but Hibino put up a brief fight at that point. She bagged the next couple of games to make it 4-2, but her resistance crumbled after that. The Frenchwoman nabbed the next two games to win the contest 6-2, 6-2.
Elena Rybakina vs Alize Cornet head-to-head
Rybakina leads Cornet 2-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2020 Strasbourg Open in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Alize Cornet odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Elena Rybakina vs Alize Cornet prediction
Rybakina overcame a slow start to kick off her title defense with a win over Rogers. As usual, her serve played a huge part in her success. She fired 12 aces and won a massive 93% of her first serve points. The Kazakh also struck 31 winners compared to 18 unforced errors, indicating that she played a rather clean match.
Cornet had it pretty easy against Hibino. Aside from a slight wobble in the second set, she wasn't tested as such. While she hasn't enjoyed much success this year, the Frenchwoman is always a dangerous foe to go up against.
Cornet snapped Iga Swiatek's 37-match winning streak by dumping her out in the third round of Wimbledon last year. She also scored a memorable win over Serena Williams here back in 2014. The veteran's varied style of play has proved to be a nightmare for plenty of players in the past.
However, if Rybakina matches her serving stats from the previous round, Cornet won't have anything to hurt her with. The Kazakh won't be on the receiving end of her opponent's trickery if the rallies rarely extend beyond a couple of shots. The defending champion will be the favorite to come through this clash.
Pick: Elena Rybakina to win in straight sets.
