The WTA final is set in Eastbourne between #6 seed Daria Kasatkina and unseeded Leylah Fernandez. Both players have solide resumes but each are looking to score their first career title on a grass court. Kastatkina is a repeat finalist here and looking to secure the title after losing a close battle to Madison Key’s in last year’s final match. Both players certainly earned their spot in the final, each winning tight three set semifinals against higher-ranked players. There will be plenty of hard hitting tennis on display in what should be an exciting final.
WTA Eastbourne Final Prediction
Leylah Fernandez vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: 2-0 Kasatkina
Kastakina has the edge winning both of their previous meetings, though this will be the first coming on a grass court. Grass will give an edge to Kasatkina as she is much more comfortable on the surface. She is playing in her third grass final and is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, while Fernandez is playing in her first final on the surface and has just a 1-2 career record at Wimbledon. Fernandez will certainly come in with confidence after a great win over Madison Keys who is a strong player on grass, and she breezed through several of her early-round matches. Kasatkina has been strong as well and won a tightly contested semifinal against French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini. Each player comes in with good form with the court surface giving a slight edge to Kastakina.
Both players have fairly similar games and strengths but the key to the match will be Fernandez’s serve against Kasatkina’s return. The lefty serve will try to get Kasatkina off-balance and control the points and hold throughout the match. However, Fernandez struggled a bit in her semifinal, losing three service games and facing seven additional break points. Kasatkina is a better returner than Keys and will look to take advantage of a weaker second serve. Fernandez will certainly have the ability to serve well, control the match, and go for winners on return to stay in it but the matchup looks to be in Kastakina’s favor. While it will be far from easy, Kasatkina should get redemption from last year and win a close one.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
