Veronika Kudermetova
Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova will face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the semi-finals of the Italian Open
Veronika Kudermetova came to Italy following a semi-final exit at the Madrid Open. It was a much-needed positive result for the Russian after consecutive first round exits in her previous tournaments.
Despite being a seeded player in all the events, the Russian hasn’t quite been able to live up to expectations and lacked consistency. Her best performance so far this year came at the Qatar Open earlier this year in February. She had an incredible run to the final but eventually lost to top seed Iga Swiatek finished as runners-up. The 11th seed will be aiming to go a step further in Rome.
Kudermetova has been very impressive so far at the Italian Open. She registered commendable victories in her three previous matches against seeded players – Anastasia Potapova (23), Marie Bouzkova (27) and Qinwen Zheng (22). She is understandably high on confidence but there is certainly no room for complacency against a trick opponent like Kalinina.
Anhelina Kalinina has surprised one and all with her performances at the Italian Open. The 30th seed has exceeded expectations to reach the semi-finals in Rome and she has nothing to lose at this stage.
The Ukrainian player registered two incredible victories in the previous two rounds against seeded players Madison Keys (19) and Beatriz Haddad Maia (12). She showed immense determination to comeback from a set down and win in both the matches. The job only gets tougher from here and it remains to be seen if she can continue her fairy-tale run against the much higher-ranked Kudermetova.
Date – Friday, 19th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Semi-final
Kudermetova and Kalinina have played each other twice before on the WTA Tour. Both the matches have been closely fought and it currently stands 1-1 head-to-head. On paper, Kudermetova is the clear favourite but Kalinina can certainly not be taken lightly. It’s a difficult match to call as both players are very close in terms of form and the performance on that particular day is likely to make a difference. We are predicting an intense encounter with Veronika Kudermetova eventually coming out on top in three sets.
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