After an exciting week in Moscow, just two women remain in contention. But will it be Belinda Bencic or home hope Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who emerges triumphant at the Kremlin Cup?
Kremlin Cup Final Prediction
Belinda Bencic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head-to-head: Bencic 3-1 Pavlyuchenkova
Bencic should feel relaxed ahead of this match after securing her spot at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen with her straight-sets win over Kristina Mladenovic of France in the semifinals. 2014 Kremlin Cup champion Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, played some terrific tennis to beat Seoul champion Karolina Muchova in three sets. And with the home crowd behind her, she will surely have high hopes of going all the way in Moscow once again.
In regular tour events, Bencic leads the head to head 3-1, although Pavlyuchenkova did beat the Swiss in Hopman Cup play. In their most recent meeting, it was Bencic who came out on top, winning 6-2 6-3 in the first round at the All England Club earlier this year. She also won their most recent match on an indoor hard-court, emerging victorious in St. Petersburg three years ago. That head-to-head advantage is a reflection of the reality that throughout their rivalry, Bencic has been just too solid for Pavlyuchenkova.
Bencic deserves great credit for how she has coped with the pressure of knowing that only by reaching the final would she secure her spot at the WTA Finals. With that goal now accomplished, she will need to guard against a let down. But she will also be able to open her shoulders and play with freedom, which will make her a very dangerous opponent. Her ability to hurt opponents off both wings and take the ball early is something that Pavlyuchenkova will likely struggle to match. Mladenovic, for all her talent, certainly proved unable to live with the Swiss
Pavlyuchenkova, playing in front of her home crowd at an event she has won before, will likely put up stiffer resistance. She has the power to keep opponents on the back foot and was, for the most part, able to prevent Muchova from getting on the front foot in their semifinal clash. But she can struggle to maintain good depth, particularly off the forehand, which allowed Muchova to pick her off with concerning regularity. The Czech ultimately wasn’t able to make that count. But a player of Bencic’s quality will not be so forgiving.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
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