Will Badosa take out the two-time champion?
From the third round onwards, at the latest, there are no easy opponents in a Grand Slam tournament. Either you meet the elite of the white sport or you have to play an opponent who is in good form and who has already won at least two matches. Such is the case at Wimbledon 2022, where we look ahead to Saturday’s match between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova.
The Spaniard is number four in the WTA rankings and yet is an underdog against the Czech, who is currently ranked 26th. But there’s a simple explanation for that, because whenever there’s a grass-court clash at Church Road, Petra Kvitova is always on the cards. After all, she has already triumphed at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014.
At the time, the women’s competition was much better in terms of quality with Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams in top form, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. In the meantime, the Czech is no longer in her absolute top form, but nevertheless, the prediction of the tested betting providers in the duel between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova goes to a victory of the former world number two
However, the future belongs to Paula Badosa, who at the age of 24 has arrived at the top of the world and is comfortable on any surface. However, the Spaniard is probably even a bit stronger on fast surfaces than on a slow clay court. We can imagine that in the duel between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova one could also be tempted to bet on a victory for the Spaniard.
Paula Badosa – Statistics & Current Form
Current world ranking: 4
Position in the seedings: 4
For Paula Badosa, 2022 started as well as the previous one ended. With the start of the clay court season, however, the Spanish player’s form curve took a sharp turn. The Masters tournaments in Madrid and Rome went just as badly as the French Open, when she finished in the third round. After that, the 24-year-old only played in Eastbourne as preparation for Wimbledon.
Without a grass court win after Wimbledon
But there Paula Badosa lost her opening match to Jodie Burrage of Great Britain. A successful Grand Slam tournament at Church Road would therefore come somewhat out of the blue. However, the big tournaments often have their own laws, especially Wimbledon, because the active players simply do not play that many matches on grass.
In the first round, the Spaniard had to face qualifier Louisa Chirico from the USA. The world number four had no problems at 6:2 and 6:1. The result in the second round against Romanian Irina Bara suggests a similarly clear match, but Paula Badosa had her hands full at 6:3 and 6:2 in the meantime to keep her opponent at bay.
Nevertheless, she has not used up too many grains in the first two matches. She will have to be fresh on Saturday, because against the two-time Wimbledon champion, the Spaniard will probably be asked to do everything. We imagine it will be a long match and that’s why we’re also looking at the odds for more than 2.5 sets between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova.
Petra Kvitova – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 26
Position in the seedings: 25
Wimbledon is something like Petra Kvitova’s favourite tournament. The Czech’s great times may be a little behind her, but the 32-year-old is still one of the world’s elite. Since her last triumph at Church Road in 2014, things have not really gone well there. Overall, however, she has a great record of 35:11 victories on the sacred turf.
Strong grass record in 2022
The Czech has again proved that grass is exactly her surface in preparation. Although she still had her problems in Birmingham in her first-round exit against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, Petra Kvitova triumphed in Eastbourne last week and has arrived in London with a broad chest.
She has now won seven matches in a row and those who saw how committed and emotional the Czech was in her first two matches at Wimbledon know how much she wants to do it again this year. In the first round, she had difficulties to get through her match in a 2:6, 6:4 and 6:2 against Jasmine Paolini from Italy.
In round two against Ana Bogdan from Romania, things did not always go according to plan either. Up to 6:1 and 5:1, there was no reason to complain, but then came an unexpected weak phase, so that the Czech won the second set only in a tiebreak. This could well be another indication that in the duel between Paula Bardosa and Petra Kvitova one can be quite right in predicting more than 2.5 sets.
Paula Bardosa – Petra Kvitova Direct comparison / H2H-balance
To date, Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova have only faced each other once on court. In 2020, this duel took place Down Under at the Australian Open. At that time, the two women met in the second round and it has to be said that this encounter took place before Paula Badosa made her big breakthrough on the tour.
In a thrilling match, the Czech won in two sets a good two and a half years ago. However, Petra Kvitova prevailed in both rounds with late breaks, so that in the end a 7:5 and 7:5 was on the scoreboard. Over 22.5 games do not seem unlikely on Saturday at Church Road either.
Paula Badosa – Petra Kvitova Tip
Paula Badosa likes fast courts. However, she has not yet adequately demonstrated her qualities on grass. Before the Wimbledon tournament, she had not yet won a match on grass this season. A player of her class, however, gets used to a new surface very quickly.
Petra Kvitova is not only a two-time Wimbledon champion, but also won the preparatory tournament in Eastbourne beforehand. She has now won seven matches in a row, which shows how strong the Czech is on grass. That’s why we are clearly leaning in the direction of betting on a win for the 32-year-old Czech between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova.
We think there are a few options to place your bets in this match. We think more than 22.5 games is quite realistic. Also, we think Petra Kvitova might come out on top in the end. However, we have decided to bet on a close match and therefore play the betting odds on more than 2.5 sets in the match between Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova.
