Maria Sakkari of Greece, the world number 20, will play 16-year old Cori (Coco) Gauff of the United States in the first round of the Western & Southern Open 2020 on Saturday, August 22. This match is scheduled to begin at 1 pm local time (6 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Maria Sakkari v Cori Gauff match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Maria Sakkari v Cori Gauff Head to Head
The pair have never played each other before. This will be the first match between the 25-year-old Greek, and the American, who is nine years her junior.
Also Read:
Sakkari’s the Most Successful Female Greek Player
Sakkari is the most successful female player that Greece has ever produced. She reached her first final at the Silicon Valley Classic in 2018 before losing to Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania, but then she did win the Morocco Open last May, defeating Johanna Konta of Great Britain in the final in three sets.
That was on clay, her preferred surface – she also has five ITF clay court titles to her name.
Last year, she beat five players in the top ten, and continued that trend in St. Petersburg in February, when she overcame the top seed Belinda Bencic. She reached the semi-final of that event, and got to the fourth round in Melbourne, but those results were sandwiched by first round defeats in Auckland and Dubai.
Sakkari then reached the quarter final in Doha before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
In her one match since lockdown, she was beaten in the first round in Palermo by Kristyna Pliskova in what can be termed as an upset loss.
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Gauff Tipped to Reach the Top
Gauff has already made her mark on tennis, by becoming the youngest woman to win a WTA title since 2004, when she won the Linz Open last year. And she has also won two doubles titles with regular partner Caty McNally.
She was the youngest player in the WTA’s top fifty, although she has just dipped below that, mainly due to the fact that she has not played that much this year due to her school commitments.
Despite that, she made considerable waves at the Australian Open, where she beat both Venus Williams and defending champion Naomi Osaka, before succumbing to eventual tournament winner, Sofia Kenin.
The long hiatus meant she did not play competitively again until Lexington last week, but she again impressed, beating both Ons Jabeur and Sabalenka, before eventually losing to Jennifer Brady in the semi-final.
Many are tipping her to do well in the forthcoming US Open, and this will give her a chance to get used to the courts.
Maria Sakkari v Cori Gauff Prediction & Tip
Although Sakkari is the higher ranked layer and has more experience, Gauff is the favourite to win this match. She has been in fine form when she has played this year, is eager and hungry, and is playing on a surface she likes, whereas Sakkari prefers clay.
Tip: Gauff to win: 4/7 (bet365)
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