The 2022 Chennai Open is the first WTA Tour event in India since 2008. 3rd seed Magda Linette takes on the up-and-coming Linda Fruhvirtova in the final. Who do you think will take home the title?
Magda Linette vs Linda Fruhvirtova
Head-to-head: Linette 1-0
Magda Linette usually does well in the Asian WTA Tour events, reaching three of her previous four finals on that continent (Tokyo, Seoul, Hua Hin). Aside from weaker fields, the conditions in these tournaments are usually quite similar and clearly suit the Pole. On her way to the final in Chennai, Linette handed out two bagel sets and was only taken to a tie-break once (by Rebecca Marino).
On the other side of the net will be the 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, for whom it is her first WTA Tour final. The young Czech dropped opening sets to En-Shuo Liang and Nadia Podoroska this week, but fought back to clinch the wins in three. Fruhvirtova’s biggest title of her career so far came at a 25K ITF in Cancun, so this would be quite a step up.
The Pole had been in decent form recently, reaching a 100K final in Grodzisk Mazowiecki and making the quarterfinals at Cleveland. Meanwhile, Fruhvirtova’s progress slowed down a bit in the summer but she was able to pick herself up and make the second round at the US Open, despite starting from the qualifying draw. Linette took their only head-to-head meeting in Cleveland last year, but the youngster was able to keep it competitive.
What’s going to happen on the court? Fruhvirtova mostly relies on her solid baseline play and doesn’t quite have the upside of the Pole yet. Linette generally struggles with stepping out of her comfort zone, but when she’s confident, she’s capable of ramping up the pace and hitting her opponents off the court. It feels like that’s what she’s going to have to do here. The experience advantage and four previous WTA Tour finals (including two titles) should help her relax.
Prediction: Linette in 3
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