Korpatsch debut at Church Road
It’s just summer, but with the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon 2022, the third major highlight is already on the tennis calendar. A total of 13 German women and men are in the starting field and there is definitely hope that one or two DTB players will make it into the second week. For Tamara Korpatsch that would be a sensation. The player from Hamburg will compete against local hero Heather Watson in the first round.
The 27-year-old German could spare herself the qualification in Roehampton because she moved directly into the main draw due to the ban of the Russian and Belarusian women. She benefits from the exclusion of the Russian Daria Kasatkina. This will be her first start at Church Road, where she will face Heather Watson, a task that does not seem insurmountable.
Heather Watson could also avoid qualifying because she slipped into the main draw in place of Victoria Azarenka from Belarus. The 30-year-old from the Channel Island of Guernsey is playing at Wimbledon for the eleventh time but has never progressed beyond the second round. The British player is seen as the favourite by the betting providers tested, however, and we can still imagine making a prediction on a win for the German between Tamara Korpatsch and Heather Watson.
That’s because the German has made a leap in performance recently and at 27 is actually on her carrier high. Heather Watson was once ranked 38th in the WTA Rankings in January 2015, but is currently behind her opponent, who is three years younger. In view of the relatively high prices, betting on a German victory in the duel between Tamara Korpatsch and Heather Watson does not seem to be a bad option.
Tamara Korpatsch – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 105
Position in the seedings: unseeded
Tamara Korpatsch has not really drawn attention to herself in her career. At 27, she is no longer a talent. Her career can’t really be called successful so far either, but she has benefited from the fact that she has recently shown solid performances at the WTA tournaments in Germany and has climbed a few places in the world rankings as a result.
Waiting for her first Grand Slam win
Against Heather Watson, the Hamburg native will now play only her third match in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. In 2020, she played at the French Open and the US Open, but lost in the opener on both occasions. Now she wants to finally win her first match at one of the four biggest tennis tournaments in the world. But it won’t be easy and that’s why we’re looking at the odds for more than 2.5 sets in the match between Tamara Korpatsch and Heather Watson.
The German has not attracted much attention on grass this season. In s’Hertogenbosch she had to retire in the first round. Afterwards, the German from Hamburg at least made it through the qualifying in Berlin, but failed in the first round there as well as in the opening match of the qualifying in Bad Homburg.
As a lucky loser, she nevertheless advanced to the main draw where she met her team mate Sabine Lisicki. In a close match, Tamara Korpatsch was defeated in two sets. Her grass court record is now 2:4 this year. She can definitely improve on this and perhaps she will be able to claim her first success at a Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon without any pressure.
Heather Watson – statistics & current form
Current World Ranking: 120
Seeded List Position: Unseeded
It was a good ten years ago when Heather Watson was the great hope in British women’s tennis. But she never really lived up to her promise. Her victory as a junior at the US Open seemed to predict a great career, but to date she has not managed to break into the top 30 of the world rankings, despite four titles she has won on the WTA Tour over the years.
Not a good record at Wimbledon
Meanwhile, Heather Watson has dropped to 120th in the world rankings and there is not much to suggest she will reach double figures again. The 30-year-old is now competing at Wimbledon for the eleventh time in total, but has never made it past the second round. At Church Road, the Englishwoman currently has a record of 6:10 victories.
The British player has also not been completely convincing in the grass court season so far. In Nottingham, she managed a first-round win against Katie Volynets from the USA. In the second round, however, she lost to Viktorija Golubic from Switzerland. In Eastbourne, she then failed to qualify against Urszula Radwanska from Poland after an opening win against Lesya Tsurenko from Ukraine.
Heather Watson also entered the main draw of Eastbourne as a lucky loser, but was defeated by Rebecca Marino from Canada. The record of 2:3 victories on grass is not exactly scary and therefore we maintain that between Tamara Korpatsch and Heather Watson a prediction of a victory for the German is not far-fetched.
Tamara Korpatsch – Heather Watson Direct comparison / H2H balance
Tamara Korpatsch has spent most of her career on the third-tier ITF Tour and has rarely competed in a Challenger. In the meantime, she has made the leap to the WTA Tour. Heather Watson has been playing in the top class of women’s tennis for many years. Until now, however, the two ladies have never met.
Tamara Korpatsch – Heather Watson Tip
Tamara Korpatsch lacks experience in the big tournaments. This is only the third time that the player from Hamburg is playing in the main draw at a Grand Slam tournament. Of course, she has not yet brought home a victory. Nevertheless, it has to be said that the German is not without a chance on court number 3 on Monday, because she will meet Heather Watson, a player who hasn’t been pulling up any trees lately either.
The Briton has just six wins in ten appearances at Church Road, never making it past the second round
In the end, we think it’s all about being on the ball in the big points and then we can imagine the German progressing a round and possibly meeting Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic on Wednesday. In any case, we have decided to play the betting odds on a win for the German in the match between Tamara Korpatsch and Heather Watson
