Ons Jabeur vs Maria Sakkari Prediction: Sakkari can nab a win

The WTA Finals have seen some in-form players perform at a much lower level than they had while some of the players that have been struggling have picked up their game. But that is to be expected when the top-eight ranked players go up against each other in a bid to end the year on a high. One of the athletes who have picked up their game, Maria Sakkari will take on threatening Ons Jabeur.

Sakkari comes into the game after bolstering her chances of making it to the next round after defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in what was another inspiring performance by the Greek athlete. She had a 61% first serve compared to 65% by Sabalenka but she had a 68-54% advantage on the winners on the first serve. Her return game was on point as she earned a 30-23 receiving points advantage. She won seven out of 11 service games. She has now won two out of two battles and is yet to lose a set. She came in as one of the least favorites but now we have seen that she has a lot left in the tank.

Ons Jabeur had a comeback win against Jessica Pegula, winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in what was an incredible close-out effort. After struggling with her serve to begin the game, the Tunisian maestro took advantage of the flailing serve by Pegula and turned aggressive once the second set began. She had a 41-35 receiving points advantage while having a 47-44 service points advantage which was a remarkable turnaround from the first set. Jabeur has a lot of work to do after playing two three-set matches and will need to be much more precise with her serve against the on-song Sakkari.

Jabeur and Sakkari have met thrice and Jabeur has won two of those battles. They last met during Rome Masters where Jabeur won in three sets.

Despite the advantage in the h2h, Jabeur can’t take Sakkari lightly and she has the tendency to try too much which can be lethal against Maria who has done well in elongated scenarios, withstanding long rallies and using variations to pull through. Sakkari and Ons have met once on a Hard surface and the last time it happened, Sakkari won in three sets. Jabeur has the tendency to get behind early but she also has the ability to complete comebacks. I believe this will be another three-set battle for Ons but I favor Sakkari to win in this game.