Sabalenka has had a pretty successful season so far in 2024. She opened it in the best possible way by winning the Australian Open for the second time in a row. Arina then showed good form on clay, reaching the final of the Madrid and Italian Masters. Sabalenka arrived in Berlin after a disappointing French Open quarter-final loss to rising Russian star Mirra Andreeva.
The Belarusian tennis player started the tournament in Berlin against her good friend Daria Kasatkina in the second round and quickly took a 2-0 lead thanks to a break. This proved decisive and Sabalenka won the first set.
Then, in the fifth game of the second set, Sabalenka took Kasatkina’s serve again. Daria, however, quickly bounced back, demonstrating excellent offensive play. Another break in the ninth game in favor of the Belarusian helped her win the match.
Kalinskaya, for her part, has had an exceptional year and currently sits at 23-11. She had a great run in Dubai, beating Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek en route to the final, where she lost to Jasmine Paolini in an epic three-setter. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the fourth round in Miami.
The Russian started the Berlin tournament with a victory over Nao Hibino in the first round. She fought back after being down in the first set to eventually win 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the second round, Marketa Vondrousova withdrew during the match due to injury and Kalinskaya reached the quarterfinals.
In personal meetings with Anna Kalinskaya, Arina Sabalenka leads with a score of 3-1. They last met at the Cincinnati Open in 2022. Sabalenka emerged victorious in that match after Kalinskaya was forced to retire, but before that Arina led with a score of 6-3, 4- 1.
Forecast for the match Arina Sabalenka – Anna Kalinskaya
Sabalenka may have shown signs of discomfort during her quarterfinals at Roland Garros, but she showed no signs of fatigue in her first match in Berlin. Arina was excellent on serve, hitting three aces and winning 73% of her first serve points. She was also good at receiving, converting four of the five break points presented to her.
Although we can expect a tense encounter between the tennis players, Sabalenka remains the clear favorite for victory given her powerful play on the grass. Kalinskaya will need to show another incredible game on her serve and go to the net regularly if she wants to challenge the Belarusian.
Forecast: Sabalenka will win in straight sets.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
