Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) – Score prediction (15.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

Kudermetova defeated Jabeur in their only previous meeting, which was also a first-round match, at ‘s-Hertogenbosch this June. She broke five service games and needed 72 minutes to prevail on grass 6-3, 6-4. A similarly comprehensive win may not be likely, especially after a long-drawn-out Asian swing.

Veronika Kudermetova has emerged out of the Asian swing as a top 50 player. She posted her maiden WTA hard-court semifinals at Hiroshima and Tianjin, and a round-of-16 finish at Wuhan (as a qualifier). At the latter event, the Russian also won her maiden WTA doubles title with partner Ying-Ying Duan. Kudermetova has won multiple matches in nearly half of her main draw outings in the season, including going on to win her biggest title at 125K Zapopan and post her best Grand Slam result at Paris (3R, d. Wozniacki). The 22-year-old will make her main draw debut at Moscow, following two failed qualifyings.

Ons Jabeur is also coming off a semifinal run in Tianjin from last week. She registered three straight-set wins, two of them against higher-ranked players in sixth seed Yulia Putintseva and Jennifer Brady. This time last year, she had never entered a WTA semifinal but now holds three such appearances. Jabeur got her big breakthrough at Kremlin Cup last year. Starting from the qualifyings, she upset the likes of Sloane Stephens, Anastasija Sevastova, and Anett Kontaveit to become the first-ever Tunisian WTA finalist. The 25-year-old dominated the final against Kasatkina for the most part but lost 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Match Info.

Competition: WTA – SINGLES: Moscow (Russia), hard (indoor) – 1/16-finals.
Start: 15.10.2019, 12:30 UTC.