Barbora Krejcikova vs Jelena Ostapenko Prediction & Betting Tips - Birmingham, Great Britain

Prediction published on 24/06/2023, 15:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 25/06/2023 at 00:30 in Tennis Predictions

World number ten Barbora Krejcikova will take on 18th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the 2023 WTA Birmingham Classic on Sunday. This will be the seventh time the pair face off, with Ostapenko currently leading the head-to-head standings 4-2. Ostapenko has had a solid season to date and will move up a spot in the rankings following this match. She’s been made to work hard in this competition, dropping a set in each of her four matches so far. She took on Linda Noskova and Venus Williams in the opening rounds and lost the second set to each. Against qualifier Magdalena Frech in round three, the Pole stunned Ostapenko early by claiming the first set, but after a hard-fought second, Ostapenko broke her opponent's service twice in the final set and powered home. In the last round, she met Anastasia Potapova and had another slow start, dropping the first set but grew into the match the longer it went on. She eventually overcame the Russians fairly easily in the second and third sets. While she has beaten this opponent four times in the past, she cannot take that for granted, as this will be their first meeting on the grass. 

Meanwhile, last year’s Wimbledon doubles champion, Barbora Krejcikova, has been excellent here in Birmingham.  She’s been the standout player up to this point and is yet to drop a single set. The Czech dispatched qualifiers Cristina Bucsa and Tereza Martincova in the opening rounds before overpowering compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova in round three. Lin Zhu was her opponent in the semi-final, and while the Chinese did show glimpses of brilliance, she was no match for the dominant Krejcikova, who broke her opponent's service four times from 11 opportunities and won the match in under 90 minutes. She is now 24-11 for the year and 4-0 on the grass. Her solid run to this point sees her come into this match as the favourite but she will know that Ostapenko has the experience on this surface and cannot take her lightly.