Aryna Sabalenka will kick off her grass season at the 2024 Berlin Open against Daria Kasatkina in the second-round match.
Sabalenka shocked the tennis world by revealing that she won't be playing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Preserving her body from the stress of changing surfaces quickly is paramount for the Belarusian, as she's played a lot of tennis lately and hopes to play some more during the grass season.
She will start off in Berlin against Kasatkina, who will be coming into this match after winning a tough round one against Marta Kosyuk. The matchup against the world no. 3 will be tough for Kasatkina, even though she's a decent player on grass, albeit probably not as devastating as Sabalenka can be.
Head-to-head:
The two have played eight times so far in the WTA Tour-level matches, and the Belarusian has won most of the matches. She has six wins, including the one played this year in Brisbane, which Sabalenka won in two simple sets.
They have never played on grass, but it's unlikely to work out well for Kasatkina. Sabalenka has a lot of power in her game and hits the ball really hard while moving fairly well.
That's a deadly combination on grass, and Kasatkina shouldn't be able to turn that disadvantage from her point of view into an advantage.
| Aryna Sabalenka | Daria Kasatkina | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | H2H | 2 |
| 3 | Rank | 14 |
| 26 | Age | 27 |
| 29-8 | 2024 W/L | 21-12 |
| 389-182 | Career W/L | 365-260 |
Prediction:
Sabalenka is the heavy favorite in this match simply because she's the better player, and that's likely to translate to the grass as well. She's had some good results on the surface in the past and has looked sharp recently, so there is no reason to doubt that she'll start off her grass campaign with a good win.
Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka in two sets.
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