United Cup 2023: Laura Siegemund vs Petra Kvitova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match details
Fixture: (GER) Laura Siegemund vs (CZE) Petra Kvitova
Date: 1 January 2023
Tournament: United Cup 2023
Round: Group stage
Venue: Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia
Category: United Cup
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $15,000,000
Match timing: (Jan 1) 10 am local time, 4:30 am IST, (Dec 31) 6 pm EST and 11 pm GMT
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Australia - Stan Sport | UK & India - United Cup YouTube Channel
Laura Siegemund vs Petra Kvitova preview
Laura Siegemund will lock horns with two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova in the round-robin stage of the 2023 United Cup on Sunday.
Siegemund's singles results in 2022 were rather underwhelming. Her best performance on the WTA tour was a quarterfinal appearance at the WTA 500 in Stuttgart. She also claimed a couple of titles on the ITF circuit. The German fared a lot better in doubles.
The German clinched three titles, including the Miami Open alongside veteran Vera Zvonareva, her first at the WTA 1000 level. Her other two triumphs were at the Lyon Open and the Transylvania Open. She also finished as the runner-up at the Tallinn Open.
Kvitova took on World No. 3 Jessica Pegula in her first singles tie of the event. Both players were evenly matched for most of the opening set. The Czech held six set points on her opponent's serve at 5-4 but failed to capitalize on them. She then got broken in the next game to trail 6-5.
Pegula served for the set and even held four set points, but Kvitova fought back as she secured a break of serve to take the set into a tie-break. The former Wimbledon champion was down 5-1 but saved three more set points en route to claiming the opener.
Kvitova broke Pegula's serve twice to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. The American managed to retrieve one of the breaks, but it wasn't enough as the 32-year-old went on to win the match 7-6 (6), 6-4. Unfortunately, her heroics were in vain as the Czech Republic eventually lost the tie 4-1 to the USA.
Laura Siegemund vs Petra Kvitova head-to-head
Kvitova leads Siegemund 2-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2020 French Open in straight sets.
Laura Siegemund vs Petra Kvitova odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Laura Siegemund vs Petra Kvitova prediction
Kvitova played a brilliant match to get the better of a consistent player like Pegula. She displayed tremendous grit to nab the first set, especially after she had multiple opportunities to claim it easily before. The Czech's ball striking was rather clean, with her backhand also working quite well.
With Kvitova looking in fine form, Siegemund will need to make sure that her shots don't land in her opponent's strike zone. The German is pretty handsy around the net due to her doubles success, and moving forward to disrupt the former Wimbledon champion's rhythm could yield rich dividends.
However, Siegemund hasn't had a notable result in singles for quite some time now. Since the start of 2018, she has managed to notch up just four wins over players ranked in the top 20, while losing 24 of her matches against them. This is likely to be a straightforward victory for Kvitova.
Pick: Petra Kvitova to win in straight sets.