World No. 72 Varvara Gracheva will play an opponent who sits just three spots below her in Kristina Kucova in the first round of the 2022 WTA Lyon on Monday, February 28. Get the live streaming options of this Varvara Gracheva v Kristina Kucova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to watch the 2022 ATP Lyon live streaming online?
- For tennis fans in the Europe & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here* to watch & bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Also get all your other WTA Lyon 2022 live streaming & TV options here
*Live streaming T&Cs:
You can watch live sport on your mobile, tablet or desktop including Soccer, Tennis and Basketball. All you need is a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours to qualify.
[the_ad id=”43630″]
Varvara Gracheva v Kristina Kucova Head to Head
72nd-ranked Gracheva has never played 75th-ranked Kucova before this.
Also Read:
Gracheva Sits At Career-High Ranking
Ahead of her second appearance at the Lyon Open, Varvara Gracheva sits at a career-high ranking of World No. 72. The 21-year-old Russian put together a decent run in multiple WTA tournaments in the second half of last season.
She achieved a Top-100 year-end ranking for the second successive season in 2021, after a run to the semifinals of Chicago and the quarterfinals of the inaugural Astana Open. She ended her campaign on a high note, finishing a semifinalist in Limoges – a WTA 125K event.
While Gracheva is steadily climbing the WTA rankings, she has encountered a handful of daunting challenges already this season. She was given a reality check in her first match of 2022 when she received the first double-bagel of the year at the hands of Sorana Cirstea at the Melbourne Summer Set 2.
Two more main draw defeats followed, at the Australian Open and St. Petersburg before she posted her first win of the calendar in Dubai when she upset Ajla Tomljanovic.
[the_ad id=”30344″]
Kucova Struggling For Wins
Neither Gracheva nor Kristina Kucova has been firing on all cylinders this year. In fact, the Slovak has only one main draw win this season, which came at the Australian Open against the harmless Misaki Doi.
That aside, Kucova has tallied four of her six defeats in the qualifying rounds of tournaments. Despite being in the game for the best part of a decade, Kucova hasn’t looked remotely close to reaching the upper echelons of the sport.
She has not been ranked higher than 71, and at 31 years of age, time is most certainly not on her side. Unless there is an extraordinary late-career upswing, Kucova is unlikely to be a major challenger at the top-tier tournaments.
She did reach her first WTA final last season in Gdynia, losing to Maryna Zanevska. So we cannot rule her out entirely, particularly at the WTA 250-level where there is always a window of opportunity to crown a first-time champion. Can it happen this week for the 31-year-old Kucova?
Gracheva v Kucova Prediction and Tip
The slightly higher-ranked Gracheva should win this match. Kucova has struggled mightily to make any inroads in her matches this year, losing five of her six matches routinely.
Tip: Gracheva to win in straight sets: 10/11 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The 2022 WTA Lyon will be played from February 28 to March 6. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment