After a week of high-quality tennis at the Jiangxi Open, two players find themselves just one victory away from glory in Nanchang. But will it be Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson or Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan who gets their hands on the trophy?
WTA Jiangxi Open Final Prediction
Elena Rybakina vs Rebecca Peterson
Head-to-head: first meeting
Rybakina, who easily beat the then-unranked Patricia Maria Tig of Romania to win her first WTA title in Bucharest earlier this season, will be looking to win her second career WTA title at the Jiangxi Open. Rybakina battled past Peng Shuai in the semifinals, beating the Chinese star in three sets, 6-1 3-6 6-2. That was Rybakina’s third three-set win in the four matches she has played at the Jiangxi Open. Peterson, meanwhile, ended Nina Stojanovic’s eight match winning streak, comfortably beating the Serbian 6-3 6-1 in the last four to make her first tour-level final.
In this match, the first meeting between this pair, Rybakina will likely be looking to play on the front foot, stepping up in the court and controlling the rallies. Peterson, however, has been hitting with precision, consistency and depth all week and has only lost one set so far. Both players have survived an opponent serving for the match against them. Rybakina was down 5-3 in the third set against Viktorija Golubic in the quarterfinals, whilst Peterson twice broke back against Magda Linette with the Pole serving for the match against in the quarterfinals.
Don’t expect Rybakina to be able to overpower Peterson. Peterson will maintain a position close to the baseline and redirect Rybakina’s power well. Peterson has been playing the better tennis all week and she should feel confident of her chances of lifting the trophy at the Jiangxi Open.
Prediction: Peterson in 2
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