World number 24 Donna Vekic takes on Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova in a first round of the US Open 2020 clash which could be played on Tuesday, September 1 and will kick-start at around 10 pm local time (3 am BST next day). Get the live streaming options of this Donna Vekic v Kristyna Pliskova match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Donna Vekic v Kristyna Pliskova Head to Head
There have been three previous outings between these two players, with Vekic having won two of them. Pliskova’s only win came in Biel in indoor hard courts, dropping just three games in the process but the last time they met was in Madrid in 2019 where Vekic trimphed 6-4, 6-4.
Also Read:
Vekic’s Lost Four of Her Last Five Matches
It was at the US Open last year Vekic showcased some of her best career tennis, and managed to reach the quarterfinals. In a fighting encounter, she went down to Belinda Bencic at that stage.
Since then, however, Vekic hasn’t quite lived up to the promise she had shown in that competition. Over the next nine matches she played in 2019, Vekic won just two, and this year, while she has done better than that, the results have still not been worthy of a player aspiring to be in the top 10.
After making the third round at the Australian Open where she lost to Iga Swiatek, the Croat went down in the second round at St. Petersburg, and the first round in Doha.
And then on her return to the circuit following the pandemic lockdown, Vekic was dumped in the second round of the Palermo Open by the little-known and 144th-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto before Victoria Azarenka got the better of her in the Cincinnati Open opener.
With virtually no rhythm or form on her, Vekic has an onerous task of getting a player who had shown some sparkle recently.
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Pliskova Showing Sparkle but What about Hard Court?
The big advantage Pliskova had returning to the circuit following the pandemic break was the number of exhibition matches she had played. And that’s what helped her shrug off any kind of rustiness a break this long would invariably bring with it.
She started off with a stunning win over Maria Sakkari in her opener at Palermo and while she lost the second round, Pliskova had another dream run in Prague the following week. With wins over Petra Martic and Anna Bogdan, the Czech made it to the semifinals before Elise Mertens got the better of her.
Both these tournaments, however, were played on clay. She didn’t make it through to the Cincinnati Open which leaves her a tad hard-pressed to get moving on hard courts quickly.
It’s this lack of practice on that surface that evens this battle a little because otherwise, given Vekic’s form, it seemed like it was advantage Pliskova.
Donna Vekic v Kristyna Pliskova Prediction & Tip
Tough one to call given all the aforementioned reasons and while we still think Vekic might shade this, we are probably looking at a three-setter in this one.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
The US Open 2020 will be played from August 31 to September 13. You can watch & bet on the US Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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