Connect with us

Tennis

WTA Tour: Luxembourg Open – Round of 32 Preview

Tennis player holds racquet

The round of 32 gets underway at the Luxembourg Open with Damien Kayat previewing the respective matchups between Andrea Petkovic and Camelia Giorgi as well as 
Cori Gauff and Anna Blinkova. 

WTA Tour 2019 | WTA International
Luxembourg Open | Kockelscheuer Sport Centre (Hard Indoor)
Selected Round of 32 Matches | 15-16 October 2019

Andrea Petkovic (8/10)
vs Camelia Giorgi (9/10)

32-year-old Andrea Petkovic has had an interesting career. In 2011 she actually reached three Grand Slam quarter-finals. She survived a horrendous injury crisis in 2012, surviving successive injuries to her back, ankle and knee. Petkovic managed to overcome that nearly career-threatening period, enjoying a terrific 2014 campaign. She reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros prior to winning the season ending WTA Tournament of Champions. Things have slowed down slightly for the German- who is actually of Serbian and Bosnian descent. She reached the quarter-finals here last year prior to yet another injury withdrawal. She does enter this event in good form having reached last week’s semi-final in the Linz Open. So perhaps she has it in her to improve on last year’s quarter-final run. 

Here’s to another player who has endured several injury issues. Her last event was at the Wuhan Open in late September, when she was forced to withdraw due to injury. Camelia Giorgi started the year with a third round run in Melbourne. She then went on a five-match losing streak that straddled a host of injury issues. But the Italian has enjoyed something of a late season renaissance when she was able to shake off her lingering injury concerns. She won the Washington Open prior to reaching the final of the New York Open. She also had a quarter-final at the Japan’s Woman’s Open amongst all that. Seven of her eight WTA finals have come on hardcourts. She is routinely regarded as one of the most powerful hitters on tour and she will look to blitz Petkovic this week. 

The 27-year-old Giorgi holds a fairly commanding 4-2 head-to-head record over Andrea Petkovic. Giorgi won their one encounter this year in a pulsating three-set match. So with everything being equal I think that Giorgi is the only sensible option at 9/10. And 2/1 for her to win in straight sets is a risky but perhaps worthwhile option.  

Cori Gauff (23/20)
vs Anna Blinkova (13/20)

The emergence of Cori Gauff has been one of the most exciting developments on this year’s WTA Tour. Affectionately known as Coco, Ms Gauff enjoyed a stellar junior career. She won the junior Roland Garros title last year at the tender age of 14. So there was always promise in Gauff. But few would have expected her to break through in such a way this year. Gauff made a huge splash at Wimbledon, accounting for Venus Williams en route to a 4th round finish. She almost replicated that success with a 3rd round showing at Flushing Meadows. But it was in Linz last week that she truly announced her arrival on the world stage. She claimed her maiden WTA title, becoming the youngest WTA champion since Nicole Vaidisova in Tashkent 15 years back. To put it in perspective, Venus and Serena Williams were 17 when they won their maiden titles. Gauff is still 15. 

At 21 years of age, Anna Blinkova must feel like a veritable veteran in comparison with teen idol Cori Gauff. Having said that, eight seed Anna Blinkova has actually enjoyed some decent form of late. A round of 16 run in Qatar saw her claim victories over the likes of Sevatsova and Sam Stosur. She then had her deepest Grand Slam run at the French Open, where she would ultimately reach the 3rd round. Bu she has saved her best for the hardcourts. She made it to the quarter-finals of the New York Open prior to a victory at the WTA 125K event in New Haven. She followed that up with a semi-final run at the Guangzhou Open a week later. Blinkova will clearly go into this as an underdog, but don’t be too surprised if the Russian had some say here. 

This will unsurprisingly be their first ever meeting. I was initially inclined to avoid the red-hot Gauff here. Lest we forget, she actually won in Luxembourg last week as the lucky loser: she lost to Tamara Korpatsch in the early stages of the event. I think it’s quite tough to expect the 15-year-old to be physically and mentally prepared to go deep this week. However, the price of 23/20 looks extremely favourable for Gauff this week. I just can’t justify Blinkova at 13/20. 

Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.

Register Now with Hollywoodbets Mobile

More in Tennis