Maria Sakkari vs Anett Kontaveit: the Estonian to take the trophy in St. Petersburg

The WTA St. Petersburg final will feature two representatives of the top 10 WTA ranking, Maria Sakkari and Anett Kontaveit. The athletes know each other very well, they have played 12 times, including five times in 2021. And what is interesting is that the score of this confrontation so far is equal, 6-6.

Sakkari confidently reached the St. Petersburg Open semi-final, knocking out Potapova, Alexandrova and Mertens in two sets each. But the Greek had to face Irina Begu (Romania). The semi-final match lasted more than three hours, after beating Begu in the first set 6-4, the Romanian won the second one on the tie-break. But Sakkari still managed to win the third set 6-4. Maria served twice on three doubles faults, 68% of her first serve points and 45% of her second serve points. On the receiving end Maria managed to win 40% of points on the first serve and 46% on the second.

«I had a lot of physical and mental strength. I think that's why I'm at the top. If I improve even more, I can get even better. I'm encouraged that I made the final and could beat Begu. It was a super high level tennis.»

Maria Sakkari after beating Irina Begu

Anett also lost one set at the St. Petersburg tournament, but it was in the first round, against Teichmann. Aside from the Swiss, Kontaveit knocked out Cirstea, Bencic and Ostapenko. Before the match against the Latvian, it seemed that Anett would have problems, and with a score of 3-0 in the first set it was hard to believe that Kontaveit can take the opening game. But Anett not only won the set, but did not lose a single game, breaking the morale of the Latvian. The second set was much more of a roller-coaster but Kontaveit led her game to win 6-4.

«I got off to a pretty slow start and Jelena got off to a very strong and aggressive start. It took me a while to catch the rhythm. I decided not to focus on the score but to find my game and I did it.»

Anett Kontaveit after beating Ostapenko

Despite the tie in the confrontation, it is worth noting that the Estonian won her last two personal matches: at the tournament in Ostrava & ATP Finals. Considering this nuance, one shouldn't be surprised that the Estonian is the favorite in the pair. We believe that Anett really has the best chance to win the St. Petersburg Open. That said, we doubt the upcoming game will be an easy walk for Kontaveit. We offer the following betting options: H2 (-2.5) for 1.72; TO (24.5) for 2.375; W2 for 1.44.