Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction: Making of a close game

The WTA Finals have lived up to the hype. The favorites have gone down but to be honest when there are top-eight-ranked players clashing against each other, is there even a clear-cut favorite? This is what makes the prediction scenario tricky and we will witness another such tricky situation when Maria Sakkari clashes against Aryna Sabalenka in the Group Stage affair.

Sakkari comes into this game with a great confidence boost, having beaten Jessica Pegula 7-6, 7-6. Sakkari has recently expressed that the game has become more burdensome than fun since she reached the top rankings showed steel nerves and won two tie-breakers, which implies that she has come into the tournament with renewed hunger. She did a great job of breaking Pegula’s serve and earned a 42-34 receiving points advantage to make up for her up-and-down service game. She did a great job of responding during the tiebreakers and this win is bound to boost her confidence.

Aryna marches into the affair after an incredible comeback win, defeating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6, 7-5. Jabeur pushed her to the limits and after she showcased familiar struggles to begin the game, she approached the second set with much more focus and let her service game do the talking. She extracted a 66-58 service points advantage and kept her nerves during the tiebreaker. She had six double-faults, which is not overwhelming but that part of her game has been holding her back. Aryna’s last win showcased that she still has a lot of fight in him after having a so-so year.

Sabalenka and Sakkari have met six times and Aryna has won four straight games agaisnt her, having a 4-2 h2h advantage. They last met during last year’s WTA Finals where Sabalenka prevailed in four sets.

Both players didn’t enter with the best of rhythm and have rather struggled this year, unable to make deep runs. However, after lodging wins in their first game, their confidence will be back as they defeated two players that have been red-hot recently. While Sabalenka does hold the h2h advantage, Sakkari can be in on for a tough fight here and this game can go to the third set. I think this will be a three-set battle with Sabalenka edging out Sakkari, but I am not that confident about it.