Tatjana Maria (US Open Tennis - Twitter)
The home favorite Ankita Raina will have her task cut out as she faces the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in the round of 32 of the Chennai Open.
The German star was ousted in the first round at the Australian Open. She won an ITF title in the USA in February before winning the Copa Colsanitas title in April.
At the Wimbledon Championships, she impressed everyone en route to a semifinal run. This was her first appearance at a Grand Slam semifinal. She defeated the likes of Astra Sharma, Sorana Cirstea, Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko, and Jule Niemeier, before losing to an in-form Ons Jabeur. At the US Open, she lost in the first round to Sakkari. She will fancy her chances against an opponent who is not even in the top 300 at the moment.
The 29-year-old began the year with a loss against Lesia Tsurenko in the qualifying match at the Australian Open. Since then, she has only played in ITF tournaments and reached one final and one semifinal.
The Indian No. 1 was down with COVID-19 twice this year and that did halt her progress. Raina will look to use the home support and the knowledge of the conditions to her advantage against a tough opponent like Tatjana Maria.
This will be the first meeting between Tatjana Maria and Ankita Raina. They have not faced each other before. The head-to-head sits at 0-0 as of now.
Prediction: Tatjana Maria to win in straight sets.
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