Maria Sakkari and Varvara Gracheva will play against each other in the second round of the Linz Open. The match will start on February 8 at 17:30.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (+6) for Gracheva – 1.468.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Games Over 20 – 1.86.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – 2nd Set Games Over 9.5 – 2.28.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – Tie-Break – Yes – 3.54.
At the start of the season, Sakkari has not been very stable and she has not had many upset victories. Gracheva got a chance to play in the main draw in Linz and has already shown her best side against Blinkova. We think that on emotional growth, Varvara will give a worthy resistance to the eminent rival today.
In Sakkari’s last three matches, there have been at least 20 games played. We reckon in the prediction that this trend will continue today as well.
Maria started the tournament with a victory over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz (6-1, 7-6).
In the second set, the Greek player could not serve for the match at 6:5, but eventually, she overpowered the Spaniard on the tie-break, although it was already nervous there.
At the Australian Open, Sakkari sensationally lost in the third round to Zhu Lin (6-7, 6-1, 4-6) of China, who won the tournament in Hua Hin last week.
Interestingly, before that Sakkari had a hard time beating Diana Shnaider (3-6, 7-5, 6-3) and Yue Yuan (6-1, 6-4).
Sakkari has won five of her last six matches in the WTA-250.
Varvara, meanwhile, defeated Anna Blinkova (7-5, 7-5) in the first round.
Gracheva held her serve surprisingly well. For example, in the second set, she managed to take 87% of the points on the first ball. Such things don’t happen to her very often.
Remarkably, the Russian made it to the main draw as a lucky loser. The 22-year-old lost in the decisive round of qualification to Anna-Lena Friedsam (2-6, 6-3, 6-1).
Gracheva’s main achievement so far this season has been beating Daria Kasatkina (6-1, 6-1) and unexpectedly reaching the third round of the Australian Open. In Melbourne, the Russian tennis player had another victory over Lucrezia Stefanini (6-3, 6-1). Only in the third round was she stopped by Karolina Pliskova (4-6, 2-6).
Varvara Gracheva has lost 11 straight battles as an underdog.
Type of Court – Hard
Speed of Court – 8/10
Maria Sakkari’s Rating – 7
Maria Sakkari Wins/Losses in 2023 – 6/2
Varvara Gracheva’s Rating – 84
Varvara Gracheva Wins/Losses in 2023 – 5/5
In two of Gracheva’s three matches in Linz, more than nine games were played in the second set. We offer to bet on “2nd Set Games Over 9.5” with odds of 2.28.
In Sakkari’s last two matches, the tie-breaks were played. We offer to bet on “Tie – Break – Yes” with odds of 3.54.
Maria Sakkari and Varvara Gracheva will play their first head-to-head match.
The match will be played in Center Court, TipsArena Linz, Linz, Austria.
We recommend checking out the odds for the 2023 Linz Open: Maria Sakkari vs Varvara Gracheva at 1xBet and VBET.