Ningbo Open: Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska.
Date: September 29, 2023.
Tournament: Ningbo Open 2023.
Round: Semifinals.
Venue: Yinzhou Tennis Center, Ningbo, China.
Category: WTA 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $259,303.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime.
Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska preview
Top seed Ons Jabeur will take on Nadia Podoroska in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open on Friday, September 29.
Jabeur entered the ATP 250 event after suffering a third-round exit at the Guadalajara Open. The Tunisian started her tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win over Diane Parry before defeating Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-2 to book her place in the quarterfinals.
Here, she faced former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva and won the opening set 7-5 after breaking serve four times, compared to the Russian's three. Zvonareva bounced back and took the second set 6-4 to force the match into a decider. The final set was dominated by Jabeur as she won it 6-1 to seal her spot in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open.
Nadia Podoroska started the ATP 250 tournament with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Wang Xinyu and followed it up by coming back from a set down to defeat Valeria Savinykh 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 to book her place in the quarterfinals.
Here, the Argentine locked horns with World No. 90 Katerina Siniakova and got off to a strong start by winning the first set 6-1. She put in another dominant performance in the second set to win it by the same margin and seal her spot in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open.
This will be Podoroska's second semifinal of the 2023 season, having reached that stage at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two currently stands at 0-0 as they haven't locked horns before on the WTA Tour.
Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Ons Jabeur vs Nadia Podoroska prediction
Jabeur will enter the match as the heavy favorite as she looks to win her second title of the season.
The Tunisian has won 102 out of 151 points on her first serve so far in the tournament (67.6%). She has served 14 aces in her last three matches and will aim to serve more of those in the semifinals. She has also served 15 double faults and will have to be careful not to repeat too many of those at this stage of the tournament.
Jabeur has also been good on her opponent's second serve, winning 62 out of 99 points (62.6%). The 29-year-old will look to play aggressively and will aim to make the most of the variety of shots she has at her disposal. Her ability to hit winners from the tightest of positions will no doubt come in handy.
Podoroska has won 86 out of 125 points (68.8%) on her first serve so far at the Ningbo Open. Her second serve, however, has been a matter of concern as she has served 19 double faults from three matches, and cannot afford to have too many of those against Jabeur, given her numbers on her opponents' second serve.
The 26-year-old Argentine will look to dominate her service games and her return game, and stamina will have to be at its finest if she is to stand a chance.
Jabeur is clearly the superior out of the two players and should be able to defeat Podoroska to reach her third final of 2023.
Pick: Jabeur to win in straight sets.