Johanna Konta vs Karolina Pliskova Prediction & Betting Tips - Rome, Italy

Prediction published on 18/05/2019, 19:21  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 18/05/2019 at 20:22 in Tennis Predictions

Karolina Pliskova is seeded fourth in the Italian Open but has reached its final without having to play another seed. So far 2019 has seen her win in Brisbane, reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open and be runner up to Ashleigh Barty in Miami. On clay she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the Stuttgart last 16 and Kateryna Koziova in Madrid. Pliskova needed a good run in Rome with the French Open on the horizon and that's just what has happened. She struggled in the third round needing three sets to get past American Sofia Kenin and another three were required to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals avenging that loss in Germany. The semi-final saw her beat qualifier Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

Johanna Konta has been slipping down the rankings of late but has had a fantastic week in Rome. The world number 42 reached the final of the clay court tournament held in Morocco last month losing to Maria Sakkari (a name to look out for in the French Open). In Madrid, she lost in straight sets to Simona Halep but has shown good form this week. She's beaten seventh-seed Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and in the semi-final defeated sixth-seed Kiki Bertens in three sets. It's been a tougher week for Konta than Pliskova and the tip here is for the fourth-seed to win the title.