Tamara Zidansek
Tamara Zidansek will face the challenge of Nigina Abduraimova in the first qualifying round of the French Open
Zidansek is not a regular on the WTA tour but is coming into this match at the back of a decent outing at Copa Colsanitas in April, where she reached the quarter-finals. She took a month-long break after that commendable performance and returned back to action with the WTA 125K Paris tournament but it wasn’t an ideal comeback.
Now, the French Open Qualifiers is a good opportunity for her to show some consistency at the WTA level. She will aim to put up a good display during the qualifying phase and make it to the main draw of the Grand Slam.
The Slovenian player is seeded No.4 in the qualifiers and will be expected to dominate the field. She will definitely be high on confidence against a relatively weaker field in the qualifiers and will look to build some positive momentum going into the main draw. However, it’s not as easy as it looks and there is certainly no room for complacency.
Abduraimova is coming into this match following a semi-final appearance at an ITF France event last week. She is a regular at the ITF level but hasn’t quite been able to establish herself on the WTA tour. However, she has been in decent form on the ITF circuit and will look to carry forward the momentum to Paris.
There is no doubt though that the French Open qualifiers is a level above any ITF event and the Uzbek ace has to bring out her A-game. She faces a tough challenge first up against the higher-ranked Tamara Zidansek and it will be interesting to see if she can cause an upset.
Date – Tuesday, 23rd May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Paris
Match details – Qualifiers
Zidansek and Abduraimova 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, Zidansek is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the experienced Uzbek and she is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting a close match with Tamara Zidansek eventually winning in three sets.
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