Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) vs. Natalia Vikhlyantseva (Russia) – Score prediction (15.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

There are no clear favorites as the pair meet for the second time. They previously clashed during the 2018 North American swing when the Belgian was in the top 50. Vikhlyantseva won the first qualifying round at Cincinnati, 6-3, 6-3, in 75 minutes. Flipkens is already set to meet a third local favorite in this campaign.

Kirsten Flipkens has won three matches in a row for the first time at any level since $100k Southsea in June 2018. Playing as the fourth seed in the qualifyings, the Belgian embarked on her maiden campaign at Kremlin Cup over the weekend, beating L. Samsonova, A. Gasanova, and G. Dabrowski in straight sets. Flipkens is at the risk of finishing a season outside the top 100 for the second time in the past ten years (2011). The 33-year-old has posted four International quarterfinal finishes this year, most recently in Seoul last month, but still owns a poor main draw record of 13-21, including 7-19 against top 100 players.

Natalia Vikhlyantseva will open her fifth consecutive appearance in Moscow with just one hard-court win since Wimbledon, against world no. 734. Aoyama at the Bronx qualifyings. Instead, she has made three clay-court outings in this timeframe: quarterfinal at Lausanne and 125K Bastad, semifinal at W60 Saint-Malo. Nonetheless, these results have put Vikhlyantseva back into the top 100 for the first time since June 2018. Two years ago, the Russian rose as high as no. 54 at the end of the breakout season. En route, she posted a runner-up finish at Rosmalen and two semifinals on home soil, one came at Moscow (l. Goerges).

Match Info.

Competition: WTA – SINGLES: Moscow (Russia), hard (indoor) – 1/16-finals.
Start: 15.10.2019, 9:30 UTC.