Citi Open 2023: Anhelina Kalinina vs Jennifer Brady preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Anhelina Kalinina vs (PR) Jennifer Brady
Tournament: Citi Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 32)
Venue: Washington D.C., United States
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Anhelina Kalinina vs Jennifer Brady preview
World No. 28 Anhelina Kalinina will square off against 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady in the first round of the 2023 Citi Open.
Kalinina has underperformed at the Majors this year, making it to the third and second round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon respectively. She crashed out in the first round of the French Open.
Kalinina's best result this season has been a runner-up finish at the Italian Open, which helped her reach a career high ranking of No. 25. She made it to the last eight at the Hobart International, the only other tournment where she reached the quarterfinals this year.
Meanwhile, following a hiatus of nearly two years, Brady finally returned to competitive tennis at an ITF event in Canada last week. She defeated Kyoka Okamura in the first round, but fell to Himeno Sakatsume in the next round.
Brady initially planned to return to action at the French Open, but a foot injury delayed her comeback.
Anhelina Kalinina vs Jennifer Brady head-to-head
The two have not faced off in a main-draw match so far, so the official head-to-head stands at 0-0. However, Brady defeated Kalinina in straight sets when they duked it out in the qualifying rounds of the 2019 Qatar Open.
Anhelina Kalinina vs Jennifer Brady odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Anhelina Kalinina vs Jennifer Brady prediction
Brady's career was just taking off when she sustained a knee injury that kept her away from the sport for so long. She made it to the semifinals of the US Open in 2020 and went a step further at the 2021 Australian Open by reaching her maiden Grand Slam final. She lost to Naomi Osaka on both occasions.
On the other hand, aside from her run at the Italian Open, Kalinina's year has been rather subpar.
Brady has the better serve and a bigger forehand as well. The American is also comfortable coming forward to finish off points. However, the Ukrainian is no slouch and is quite adept at slugging it out from the baseline.
After being away for so long, Brady is still finding her footing and this will be just her third professional match in two years. Prior to her injury hiatus, she would've been favored to win this bout. However, this early in her comeback, getting the better of Kalinina is going to be an uphill task for the American.
Pick: Anhelina Kalinina to win in straight sets.