Internationaux de Strasbourg 2021: Yulia Putintseva vs Magda Linette preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (4) Yulia Putintseva vs (8) Magda Linette
Date: TBD
Tournament: Internationaux de Strasbourg 2021
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Strasbourg, France
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: $235,238
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Yulia Putintseva vs Magda Linette preview
Yulia Putintseva and Magda Linette will meet in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Internationaux de Strasbourg. Both players came through their second-round encounters in similar fashion after their respective opponents were forced to retire.
While Putintseva was only on court for a few minutes before Jil Teichmann retired, Linette had to battle it out against home-favorite Alize Cornet for almost an hour and a half. The Pole won the first set and was up 3-0 in the second when the Frenchwoman chose to withdraw from the encounter.
Linette entered the tournament on the back of first-round exits in Charleston, Madrid and Rome, but looks to have found her footing in France.
The Pole looked sharp in her 6-2, 6-0 victory over Nao Hibino in the first round and will be keen to carry the momentum forward.
Yulia Putintseva vs Magda Linette head-to-head
Magda Linette leads Yulia Putintseva 3-1 in their head-to-head. All of their matches have been hard-fought affairs. Their most recent meeting, in the first round of Wimbledon 2018, was won by Putintsev 10-8 in the decider.
Yulia Putintseva vs Magda Linette prediction
Both Yulia Putintseva and Magda Linette have struggled to produce their best tennis in recent weeks and enter this contest hoping to make their first semifinals of the season.
Linette is the more powerful of the two players and will look to take on the role of aggressor. Having faced off against the tenacious Kazakh on a few occasions, she will know better than to indulge in too many long baseline exchanges.
Linette has been clinical in this tournament; she has won 10 of the 11 break points that she has earned. She has also put her serve and powerful groundstrokes to good use, taking charge of rallies and keeping points short.
Yulia Putintseva, on the other hand, has squandered as many as 14 break points and won less than 50% of the points on her first serve. Against a resurgent Linette, the Kazakh will have to tighten up her game if she is to pull throug.
Prediction: Magda Linette to win in two tight sets.