Donna Vekic and Petra Kvitova will meet in the final of the 2023 German Open. It will be the sixth time they face each other. Who do you think will take home the title?
WTA Berlin Final Prediction
Donna Vekic vs Petra Kvitova
Head-to-head: Kvitova 4-1 Kvitova
Vekic has always looked very comfortable on grass and while her Wimbledon records aren’t the best, she won Nottingham back in 2017 and amassed two other runner-up finishes on the grass in WTA Tour events. It’s been a fantastic run for her so far this week with an upset over the most recent grass Slam champion in Elena Rybakina and a quality win over Maria Sakkari in the semifinals. Just like her final opponent, Vekic had to play two matches on Saturday but went through with relative ease.
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Kvitova has got a bit of a reputation for peaking only in two or three events each year. You certainly got that feeling when she won Miami in March and then went winless on the clay courts. Back to a surface she’s more comfortable on and Kvitova went right back to being a huge threat. She is yet to drop a set in Berlin this week with a win over such an experienced grass-courter like Karolina Pliskova and two excellent displays on Saturday, including snapping Ekaterina Alexandrova’s 8-match win streak.
Excellent aggressive ball-striking feels guaranteed in this matchup, which historically has been quite tough for Vekic. She managed to grab her lone win over Kvitova in Saint Petersburg 2019, but lost on four other occasions, including this year in Miami or in their only grass clash in Eastbourne. The Czech should be getting more out of her serve and has a bigger weight of shot than Vekic, allowing her to dictate in most of the rallies in this matchup. It’s essentially a battle for baseline dominance and Kvitova seems slightly better equipped to handle it.
Prediction: Kvitova in 3
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sport
