Kaia Kanepi vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction: Aggressive Aryna should fancy her chances

Betting on the WTA is as tricky as it gets, you don’t when a great player folds and you have no idea when a Qualifier can end up bursting on the scene. WTA in the modern era isn’t dominated by a single player as it was in the days of Serena Williams and that is what makes her so great. Talking about greatness, Belarusian Great Aryna Sabalenka will clash in another tricky WTA scenario as she faces Kaia Kanepi.

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Kanepi comes into this game after beating Tereza Martincova 7-6, 6-3, in what turned out to be a rather grueling battle. Kaia had a 73% win percentage on the first serve and it was her service game that pulled her through as she accumulated a 52-40 service points advantage, while getting outmatched 21-26 on receiving points. At 37, Kanepi is in the twilight of her career but still remains a busybody on the WTA circuit and at this point, any win is magnificent in itself.

Aryna took care of business fairly easily against Catherine Harrison as she won 6-1, 6-3. Sabalenka nailed three Aces and had a 64% first serve. She did most of her damage while breaking the serve and had a fruitful 31-24 receiving points advantage to boot. Sabalenka continues to be an elite tennis athlete but she has been bereft of Finals/Title runs, usually losing her way around the Quarter or Semi-Finals. Sabalenka has been given the sixth seed, but she ought to do better in terms of making deep Grand Slam runs.

Kanepi and Sabalenka have met twice and both of those instances, Kanepi has come on top. They last met during the Australian Open this year where Kanepi won in a three-set tiebreaker thriller.

Kanepi knows how to deal with even top players at this point and this year, she has accumulated some impressive wins. Belarusian Aryna remains a strong candidate for the title but she has been off her game in terms of the serve, however, her aggressive nature can enable her to claw her back. I believe she will win this one against Kanepi.