Bad Homburg Open 2024: Paula Badosa vs Jule Niemeier preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (WC) Paula Badosa vs (LL) Jule Niemeier
Date: June 25, 2024
Tournament: Bad Homburg Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: TC Bad Homburg, Germany
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: $922,573
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Paula Badosa vs Jule Niemeier preview
Former top-10 player Paula Badosa will square off against Jule Niemeier in the second round of the 2024 Bad Homburg Open.
Badosa commenced her campaign here against Arantxa Rus in the first round. The Spaniard started the match with a break of serve and held on to that advantage until the end to clinch the set. She ran away with the match after that as she conceded only one game in the second set for a 6-4, 6-1 win.
Niemeier initially lost to Diane Parry in the qualifying rounds but got a second shot as a lucky loser. She was drawn against top seed Maria Sakkari in the first round. The German was outplayed in the first set as it slipped out of her grasp after getting broken twice.
Niemeier returned the favor in the second set, breaking Sakkari's serve twice to claim the set. The German led by a break twice in the third set but her opponent broke back immediately on both occasions.
Sakkari then saved a match point on her serve at 6-5 to force a tie-break. Neimeier took an early lead in it, only for the Greek to level the score once again. However, the German didn't have to do much in the end as two consecutive double faults from her opponent helped her complete a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) comeback win.
Paula Badosa vs Jule Niemeier head-to-head
This will be the first career meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Paula Badosa vs Jule Niemeier odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Paula Badosa vs Jule Niemeier prediction
Niemeier made the most of her second chance as she rallied from a set down to beat Sakkari. It was her fourth career win over a top-10 player, and three of them have come on grass.
However, Niemeier could certainly clean up her game going forward. She committed 48 unforced errors in the previous round, and that's not going to cut it against a more consistent player.
Badosa made a solid start to her campaign here with an easy win over Rus. Her serve worked well, and it helped her to set up the rest of her shots pretty nicely. While she's still ranked outside the top 100, she has played way above her ranking from time to time this year.
Neimeier is quite a threat on grass, having reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals a couple of years ago. However, she has struggled to attain the same level of success since then.
Badosa's injury woes have halted her momentum but she seems to be healthy now. She's quite a capable player on grass as well, and given her level in the previous round, she will be favored to get the better of Niemeier.
Pick: Paula Badosa to win in three sets.