Arantxa Rus will face Czech star Barbora Palicova in the second round of qualifiers at the French Open

Arantxa Rus is a regular in the ITF circuit and has played only a handful of WTA events this year. The 32-year-old is coming into this match after registering a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Audrey Albie in the opening round. Rus is seeded No.3 for the qualifying phase of the clay-court Grand Slam and she will be confident about her chances of making it to the main draw. However, it’s certainly not going to be easy, especially against a tricky opponent like Palicova.

Rus has been in pretty good form at the ITF level so far this season. She won the ITF Colombia tournament in March and had earlier finished runners-up in the ITF USA event. However, she hasn’t quite been able to perform well in the WTA events. She is coming into this tournament following a first-round exit from her previous WTA tournament – the Italian Open. The Dutch ace will be looking to turn things around and put up a good showing in Paris.

Barbora Palicova’s form coming into the match

Barbora Palicova is an emerging star from the Czech Republic. The teenager is a regular on the ITF circuit and is aiming to make her maiden main draw debut in a Grand Slam. Palicova registered a statement win in her opening encounter against Sakura Hosogi. She absolutely demolished the Japanese player 6-0, 6-4 and made her intentions clear that she is not here to settle for anything less than her objective. It remains to be seen if the 19-year-old can cause a major upset against Arantxa Rus.

Details:

Date – Wednesday, 24th May

Court Type – Clay outdoor surface

Telecast – Tennis Channel

Start Time – To be Announced

Location – Paris

Match details – Qualifiers

Head to head and Predictions

Rus and Palicova have never played each other before on the WTA tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Rus is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the promising Czech teenager and she is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting a close match with Rus eventually winning in three sets.

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