Roland Garros 2021: Petra Kvitova vs Greet Minnen preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Petra Kvitova vs Greet Minnen
Date: 30 May 2021
Tournament: Roland Garros 2021
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red Clay
Prize money: €17,171,108
Match timing: Approx. 2 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 8 am EST, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Petra Kvitova vs Greet Minnen preview
Petra Kvitova will open her 2021 Roland Garros campaign against Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in a repeat of their Australian Open first-round clash earlier this year.
Kvitova made it to the semifinals of the claycourt Slam last year and will be hoping for another strong run this year. She has a relatively easy opener against Minnen, who is ranked 98 in the world, and could use the match to fine-tune her game.
Minnen has already played three matches this week, coming through the qualification rounds. The Belgian opened with a hard-fought victory over Urszula Radwanska and then notched up resounding wins over Ankita Raina and Ellen Perez.
Minnen enjoys playing in faster conditions, but she does have a few big results on the red dirt. A couple of ITF $15000 titles and a finals appearance in doubles at the recently-concluded Serbia Open will hold her in good stead going into this contest.
Petra Kvitova vs Greet Minnen head-to-head
Petra Kvitova leads Greet Minnen 2-0 in the head-to-head, having won both their previous meetings in straight sets.
Petra Kvitova vs Greet Minnen prediction
Petra Kvitova is coming off a rather underwhelming clay swing. She made the quarterfinals at both the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Madrid Open, but as a former champion at both events, the Czech would have been hoping for better results.
Nonetheless, she remains a favorite heading into this contest. Kvitova will rely on her lefty serve and power-packed groundstrokes to do the heavy lifting.
Greet Minnen, on the other hand, does not have the sort of power that's needed to push Kvitova behind the baseline so she will have to rely on other aspects of her game, including her nifty front court skills, to try and prevent her opponent from settling in.
That said, Minnen will need a little help from Kvitova's end to stay competitive. If Kvitova can keep her unforced error count low, she should be able to come through this encounter unscathed.
Prediction: Petra Kvitova to win in straight sets.
Please help Sportskeeda improve its tennis coverage. Take a 30-second survey now!