The semifinals at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships couldn’t have gone in more different ways, from Jelena Ostapenko being just a tiebreak away from going home she prevailed in a final set whilst Veronika Kudermetova did not have to step out on court given Marketa Vondrousova pulled put with a right adductor injury. With two big hitters now in the final, who will take the title home?
WTA Dubai Final Prediction
Jelena Ostapenko vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: 0-0
Let’s start with the obvious, there’s no way anyone expected a final like this in Dubai, and that’s nothing against both women. What’s even more surprising is that the Latvian has beaten a Grand Slam champion in each and every round so far, with wins against Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petro Kvitova, and Simona Halep. In fact, Kudermetova will be her first non-Grand Slam champion opponent.
Both Ostapenko and Kudermetova play a similar brand of aggressive tennis, sometime deemed as mindless ballbashing. With that in mind, there’s no doubt matches like this come down to whoever is redlining with their game. Given Ostapenko has beaten four Grand Slam champions as mentioned earlier, it must be noted that Kudermetova has beaten two herself in Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza. I think it’s fair to say both have been playing well this week which only makes this an even harder match to call.
But despite all this there are two reasons I give the Russian the advantage. The first is Ostapenko’s shaky serve. It’s somewhat amazing she’s made the final given the amount of double faults as well as poor second serve percentage points won. Kudermetova, if she’s serving well, can make the most of Ostapenko’s serve struggles and not give up many chances for the former Roland Garros champion to break. It’s hard to see how the Russian won’t make more chances than the Latvian.
The second reason is Ostapenko has played three consecutive thre-setters in the space of three days, which may have taken something out of her physically. On the other hand, Kudermetova has had Friday off which will be a huge advantage after two long matches in her previous two rounds. If this final goes long then the slightly older of the two no doubt has the physical advantage.
The last thing I will mention, however, is Ostapenko is clearly on a good run of form. Maybe there’s no reason to doubt she can’t keep it going a little longer and win the event. If she does, there’s no one out there who can say it hasn’t been extremely well deserved. But despite it all, I give the Russian the very slight edge.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
