Bad Homburg 2024 Final: Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider
Date: Saturday, June 29
Time: Approx 4:30 p.m. local time, 10:30 a.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. GMT, & 8:00 p.m. IST
Tournament: Bad Homburg Open 2024
Round: Finals
Venue: TC Bad Homburg, Germany
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Grass (Outdoors)
Prize Money: $922,573
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider preview
Donna Vekic will square off against Diana Shnaider in the final of the 2024 Bad Homburg Open on Saturday, June 29.
Vekic kicked off her campaign in Bad Homburg with a routine 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lucia Bronzetti in the first round. Up against eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round, Vekic overcame a second-set hiccup to eventually seal the win in three sets: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Then, in the quarterfinals, she received a walkover from defending champion Katerina Siniakova, who had to pull out due to a hip injury.
In her semi-final encounter against Viktoriya Tomova, Vekic stamped her authority early, claiming the first set without dropping a single game. She was up and running in the second set too, breaking Tomova in the very first game with a blistering forehand down the line. However, Tomova fought back with some impressive feel from the back of the court to level the score. Eventually, a strong tie-breaker from Vekic, who held her nerves better, saw her seal a 6-0, 7-6 (6) victory.
Shnaider, meanwhile, opened her campaign with a surprise 7-5, 6-3 victory against three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the opening round. She brushed aside Dayana Yastremska in the second round, dropping just four games en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. She carried that form into her quarterfinal clash against former World No. 2 Paula Badosa, sealing another emphatic 6-3, 7-6 (3) win.
Shnaider took on third-seeded Emma Navarro in the semifinals. Both players started terrifically on serve, but it was the Russian youngster who seized the initiative in the twelfth game to claim the first set. Navarro fought back in the second set with a couple of breaks to send it into a decider. Some brilliant ball-striking in the final set from the Russian's racket saw her go on to seal a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win and book a spot in her first-ever grasscourt final.
Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider head-to-head
Donna Vekic and Diana Shnaider have yet to face off in professional competition which means that their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Donna Vekic vs Diana Shnaider prediction
A tantalizing summit clash is on the cards for fans in Bad Homburg, with both Donna Vekic and Diana Shnaider heading into the encounter on the back of some good form.
Vekic may have had a subpar season so far, but she sure has gotten into her own on the grass. She's been brilliant on serve and from the back of the court all week. Her backhand, in particular, has been in full-flow. Shnaider, too, has played some of the best tennis of her life recently. Her blistering ball-striking, coupled with delicate touches at the net, has made her a serious force to be reckoned with on the grass.
Vekic enters the contest as the more experienced grasscourt player. She won a title in Nottingham back in 2017 and reached the finals of the German Open just last year, losing to Petra Kvitova. On the other hand, this is Shnaider's first final on the grass, but she did break barriers earlier this year when she won her first-ever WTA title in Hua Hin.
While we can expect a thriller, Vekic should ultimately find a way through to her second grasscourt title and fifth overall.
Pick: Vekic in three sets.