Sixth seed Anna Blinkova locks horns with Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the round of 16 of the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open.
The Russian youngster has shown signs of a resurgence this year and has managed to bag her first singles title on the tour by winning the Transylvania Open. She also re-entered the top 100 in the WTA rankings.
Blinkova began her campaign in Angers with a hard-fought win against Switzerland’s Joanne Zuger. During the match, Blinkova managed to fire in 9 aces and had a win percentage of 71. She eventually won the match 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, After a disappointing campaign in the WTA 125 event in Rouen, Blinkova will hope for a deep run in this tournament. A tough encounter in the first match should hold her in good stead going forward.
The 19-year-old came into the tournament on the back of some fine form. She won an ITF event in Italy by defeating Emina Bektas in the final. Tauson has picked up some impressive wins this season against top players like Anett Kontaveit and Belina Bencic.
In the round of 32, Tauson faced the experienced German, Sabine Lisicki. The former managed to outplay the veteran during a 6-1, 6-1 win. Lisicki was unable to break Tauson during the match. The exciting youngster had a 72% win percentage on the first serve during her comprehensive victory.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Anna Blinkova. She defeated Tauson in the round of 32 of the Bad Homburg Open last year in a closely-contested encounter that ended 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 in favor of the Russian.
Prediction: Clara Tauson to win in three sets.
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