Will Tatjana Maria surprise Maria Sakkari?

Tatjana Maria is a real phenomenon. Now 34, the mother of two has actually stormed into the third round of Wimbledon once again. The right-hander, who was born in Bad Salgau, will be allowed to play a third-round match at Grand Slam level on Friday lunchtime for only the second time in her long career.

The anticipation could hardly be greater, even though the experienced women’s player, who has undoubtedly chosen grass as her strongest surface, will start her match as an underdog. Ahead of the encounter between Maria Sakkari and Tatjana Maria, the odds for the German to win are 6.00 at the top. The bookmaker thus sees the Greek world number five in the clear favourite role, which can partly be attributed to the impressions of the first two rounds.

Sakkari has not shown any weakness so far, celebrating two straight two-set victories and conceding only twelve games in four sets. The well-trained southern European has been convincing, especially with her good serve and good returns. Only the still too high number of unforced errors could become a problem against the lively ball wall from Germany. Apart from that, everything suggests that the prediction of the favourites will pay off in the duel between Sakkari and Maria

Maria Sakkari – Statistics & current form

Maria Sakkari is playing an excellent 2022 so far. The Greek has won a whopping 27 of her 40 matches, impressively underlining her status as a top five player. At the Grand Slams, however, the 26-year-old has not been able to fulfil her potential as desired. At the start of the season, she was eliminated in the last 16 at the Australian Open. At the French Open, she had to pack her bags after the second round.

For the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament at Church Road, however, the right-hander now has her sights set high. The first impressions from the first two matches are very positive. Although Zoe Hives and Viktoriya Tomova were no real yardsticks for the current world number five, the manner of the clear victories was a pointer in the direction of the competition.

Sakkari wants to reach the last 16 in London for the first time

In both matches, Sakkari scored over 70% of all points when the first serve went into the court. Five aces each rounded off the good service record, although there is definitely room for improvement. The return worked just as well as the service. Six and four breaks respectively in the course of the match underline this impressively and are at the same time a good reason to bet on Friday between Sakkari and Maria that there will again be a few service losses. Probably even on both sides.

To stay in the lingo, however, we are sure that “Sakkari will have the win on her racket.” Meaning that coach Tom Hill’s athlete, who has already reached the semi-finals at two Grand Slams but has never gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon, will determine for herself whether she wins the match or not. It will be important for her to reduce the number of unforced errors. If she succeeds in doing so, there will be no obstacle to a clear victory in our eyes. In any case, the lady from Athens can expect a real test of patience against her opponent’s uncomfortable slice.

Tatjana Maria – statistics & current form

Tatjana Maria is currently writing her very own tennis fairytale at Wimbledon. A little over a year ago, the 34-year-old gave birth to her second child. Just under 17 months later, she has reached the third round of the most important Grand Slam of the year for the second time in her career.

Despite a satisfactory preparation on the most unusual of all tennis surfaces with five wins from nine matches, hardly anyone would have expected the experienced lady, who is no longer in the top 100 of the world rankings, to actually win two matches in a row at a Grand Slam. Against Astra Sharma and Sorana Cirstea, the player from Bad Salgau had to go into a deciding set, but both times she kept her nerve and prevailed.

Tatjana Maria is a defensive specialist

Maria’s greatest strength is her completely unorthodox game, which works best on grass. From the baseline, the German, who was once ranked in the world’s top 50 in her prime, operates almost exclusively with the slice. A good volley game and a passable first serve round off her toolbox.

The 34-year-old returns many balls, but cannot dictate a match. If she is forced into the corners and has no time to position herself, she sometimes looks overwhelmed. Sakkari should therefore take a leaf out of Sorana Cirstea’s book, who confronts Maria with insurmountable tasks in the second set, but cannot maintain the level in the third. Tatjana Malek, who used to play under her own name, is considered mentally strong and tactically clever. However, she might lack the necessary power to knock out the world number five.

Maria Sakkari – Tatjana Maria Direct comparison / H2H-balance

Two direct duels have taken place between the two ladies on the WTA Tour so far. The first match in 2014 went to the German Tatjana Maria. However, the most recent encounter in May this year ended in a two-set win for the Greek, who would certainly not mind taking a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head standings on Friday.

Maria Sakkari – Tatjana Maria Tip

Several German ladies have made it through to the third round of Wimbledon. While Angie Kerber won her first two matches almost as expected, Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria have caused surprises so far. Especially the 34-year-old’s third-round entry came unexpectedly. The hussar ride should continue on Friday, if possible, although the task will be much more difficult.

Before the duel Sakkari vs. Maria, the betting odds are clearly in favour of the Greek, who is ranked fifth in the world and celebrated two straight two-set victories in the first two rounds. The 26-year-old has never reached the last 16 in London either, but she is having a strong 2022, which she would now like to crown in the English capital.

We don’t think the German’s strengths will come to the fore on Friday as they did in the first two rounds. The Greek will push the 34-year-old into the corners with her powerful groundstrokes. If the favourite also makes a few simple errors, everything suggests that a tip on the world number five between Sakkari and Maria will come true. We even play the under 20.5 games and therefore believe in a rather one-sided match. The top odds of 1.62 are worth six units to us.