French Open 2022: Paula Badosa vs Veronika Kudermetova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Paula Badosa vs (29) Veronika Kudermetova
Date: 28 May 2022
Tournament: French Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €21,256,800.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten & Sony LIV.
Paula Badosa vs Veronika Kudermetova preview
Third seed Paula Badosa will take on 29th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the third round of the French Open on Saturday.
The Spaniard started the season strongly before her form dropped off. She won her first-ever WTA 500 title at the Sydney International and reached the last 16 of the Australian Open.
Following early exits in Dubai and Doha, Badosa reached the semifinals of the Indian Wells Open but lost to Maria Sakkari in three sets. She also made it to the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, where she had to retire due to injury.
After reaching the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Badosa's form tailed away as she suffered early exits from the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
But she has rediscovered her best tennis at the French Open. The 24-year-old opened her campaign with a comprehensive victory over Fiona Ferro and then outlasted Kaja Juvan in the second round.
Paula Badosa comes back from a break down in the 3rd to beat Kaja Juvan in a very tough battle: 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Gets Kudermetova next. #RolandGarros https://t.co/no41Z8qCFi
Kudermetova, meanwhile, reached the final of the Melbourne Summer Set, where she lost to Simona Halep. The Russian also made the title clash in Dubai, but once again failed to get her hands on the trophy as she was beaten by Jelena Ostapenko.
She looked shaky in the build-up to the French Open, losing her opener in Madrid and Rome. But she's hit the ground running in Paris, defeating Lin Zhu and Aleksandra Krunic to reach the third round.
Veronika Kudermetova put in one of her best performances recently, hitting just 22 winners to 17 unforced errors to beat Aleksandra Krunic 6-3, 6-3.
For just the fourth time in her career, Veronika reaches the third round of a Grand Slam!
[📸: Shi Tang/Getty] https://t.co/SlP0DSsgdd
Paula Badosa vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head
This will be the sixth meeting between the two players, with Kudermetova leading 3-2 in the head-to-head. The Russian won the first three matches between the two, but Badosa triumphed on the two occasions they met this season.
The winner will take on 16th seed Elena Rybakina or 22nd seed Madison Keys in the last 16 of the French Open.
Paula Badosa vs Veronika Kudermetova odds
All odds sourced from Oddschecker.
Paula Badosa vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction
Paula Badosa has the edge in this match, at least on paper. Clay is her favorite surface and she has the ideal game to thrive on the red dirt. Badosa possesses a strong serve and compact groundstrokes off both wings. Her movement is one of her biggest assets.
Kudermetova, on the other hand, is a powerful baseliner who likes to dictate the play. But she tends to overpress at times and leaks unforced errors. She might find it hard to hit through Badosa on the slow courts at Roland Garros.
Badosa beat Kudermetova comprehensively in their two meetings this year and will hope for a hat-trick come Saturday.
Pick: Badosa to win in two sets.