Daria Kasatkina
The experienced Petra Kvitova squares off against 5th seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International 2 on Thursday.
The two-time Grand Slam champion has been in fine form in the early stages of the new season. Kvitova came into the tournament with wins against world No. 3 Jessica Pegula and Laura Siegemund in the United Cup.
Kvitova has continued to impress at the Adelaide International 2 and picked up a solid win against Elena Rybakina in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 in the first round. The 32-year-old followed it up with a gritty effort against Zheng Qinwen in the round of 16. Kvitova won a tightly-contested first set 7-6 (8-6). Prior to the second set, the Chinese youngster was forced to retire owing to a thigh injury.
The Russian athlete entered the Adelaide International 1 as the 3rd seed. She couldn’t progress beyond the first round, losing to eventual finalist Linda Noskova in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Kasatkina faced Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16 in the Adelaide International 2. The former managed to pick up a 6-2, 7-5 win against the 2021 French Open champion and this must have boosted her confidence after the initial stutter to the season. However, the world 8 shouldn’t get too confident as she is about to face an in-form player in Kvitova.
The veteran from the Czech Republic currently is up 1-0 in the head-to-head scoreline. Kvitova defeated Kasatakina in the 2018 Madrid Open.
Prediction: Petra Kvitova to win in three sets.
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