Tatjana Maria (US Open Tennis - Twitter)
The experienced Tatjana Maria faces teenage qualifier Alex Eala in the round of 32 of the Thailand Open on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old began the new season by playing in the ASB Classic. She lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the first round. In Hobart, she defeated Talia Gibson comprehensively in the first round before losing to 5th seed Anhelina Kalinina in the round of 16.
At the Australian Open, Maria failed to progress beyond the first round as she went down to Lucrezia Stefanini in three sets after winning the first set. The German veteran is coming into the tournament on the back of a triumphant campaign in an ITF event in India. She defeated three seeded players in the tournament and won the title.
The 2022 US Open Junior champion could not make it to the main draw of an ITF event in Australia earlier this year. Her run in the Australian Open ended in the first round of qualifying as she lost to Misaki Doi.
In the Thailand Open, Eala managed to defeat Xinyun Han and Kristina Dmitruk in straight sets in the two rounds of qualifying. The 17-year-old has a lot of talent so far in her young career. Irrespective of the result, she will come out of the match as a better player as she faces the experienced Maria.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as Tatjana Maria and Alex Eala have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Tatjana Maria to win in three sets.
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