Veronika Kudermetova vs Maria Sakkari: Betting on a Russian Sensation

The next opponent of Veronica Kudermetova at the Australian Open will be #8 in the world, the Greek Maria Sakkari. They have played twice with each other, and the score is 1:1. It should be noted that the only head-to-head meeting between them on a hard court ended in favour of Maria in three sets.

Veronica had good practice before starting at the Majors. Kudermetova reached the final of the Melbourne tournament, knocking out Kuzmova, Brengle and Potapova, losing in the final to Halep in two games. At the Australian Open 2022, the Russian has played two matches and has not lost a single set so far, beating Liu and Ruse. The game against the latter lasted almost an hour and a half, and Veronica won it 6:2, 7:5, with four aces and three double faults. We note the excellent first serve of Veronica and a reasonably good game on the receiving end.

Unlike Kudermetova, Maria Sakkari played only two official matches at the Adelaide tournament before Majors. First, she defeated Zidansek and then lost in three games to Rogers. The Greek has not lost a single set so far in Melbourne, knocking out Maria and Zheng. The match against the Chinese was quite short - an hour and a half, and Saisai managed to get only five games in the entire game.

Sakkari beat Kudermetova in August 2021 in the last 32 of the Toronto tournament. That match was a long one, lasting two hours and 40 minutes, and the plus handicap for the Russian worked out. We'll see how it goes this time. There's a feeling that Veronica will fight again against Maria. We won't be surprised if the Russian makes a sensation at all, knocking the top player out of the net.