Anastasia Potapova (Image Credit: Transylvania Open - Twitter)
5th seed Anastasia Potapova squares off against French youngster Clara Burel in the round of 16 of the 2023 Lyon Open on Thursday.
The Russian star failed to make it to the main draw at the Adelaide International 1 as she was ousted in the second round of qualifying by the talented Linda Noskova. At the Adelaide International 2, Potapova made it to the main draw with wins against Dalma Galfi and Qinwen Zheng in the qualifiers. In the first round of the main draw, Potapova retired while trailing Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 1-0.
In the Australian Open, the 21-year-old got off to a good start as she defeated 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round. However, her journey ended in the following round after a loss to Nuria Parrizas-Diaz. In the first round of the Lyon Open, Potapova bounced back after losing the first set as she went on to defeat Marina Bassols Ribera 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Serves and double faults have been an issue for Potapova and she will have to tighten up in that department.
The 21-year-old had her Australian Open campaign cut short by veteran Barbora Krejcikova in the second round. Burel made it to the second round by winning three rounds of qualifying and beating Talia Gibson in the first round of the main draw.
In the Lyon Open, Burel produced a solid performance to get the better of Ana Bogdan in two competitive sets. The match ended 7-5, 6-4 in favor of the promising French youngster.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Anastasia Potapova and Clara Burel. The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0.
Prediction: Anastasia Potapova to win in three sets.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates