Wimbledon 2023: Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Fixture: (9) Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Date: July 7, 2023
Tournament: Wimbledon 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: London, United Kingdom
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £44,700,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sport
Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich preview
Two-time former champion Petra Kvitova will square off against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in an intriguing second-round encounter at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Friday.
Kvitova, seeded ninth at this year's tournament, opened her campaign with a tight three-set win over Jasmine Paolini. The first-round victory was Kvitova's sixth consecutive win of the grasscourt season.
The southpaw, who only played intermittently after winning her 30th career title in Miami due to a foot injury, has shown her class over the grass swing — having lifted another trophy in Berlin. A win over Sasnovic will put her on par with her showing at Wimbledon last year.
Sasnovich, meanwhile, is going through a bit of a lean patch in terms of results. The Belarusian suffered early exits in her last two main draw appearances before Wimbledon — Berlin and Bad Homburg.
Playing at 's-Hertogenbosch, however, Sasnovich had put together a nice run to semifinals. With wins over the likes of Liudmila Samsonova and Lucrezia Stefanini, she showed just how dangerous she can be on the surface.
Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich head-to-head
Kvitova leads Sasnovich in their current head-to-head with a 2-1 margin. Notably, however, the Bealrusian's only win over her opponent had come at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships itself.
Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich odds
(All odds are sourced from BETMGM.)
Petra Kvitova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich prediction
Both Petra Kvitova and Aliaksandra Sasnovic thrive on the quick grasscourts, which accentuate the impact of their flat, low-bouncing groundstrokes.
That said, Wimlbedon grass has gotten a lot slower in recent years. The same should give a slight edge to Kvitova, who is better equipped at generating more power off the ground.
The Czech's renewed serve has been key to her recent success. Despite being pushed to three sets in her opener, she never dropped her serve and will once again rely on the weapon to win her a fair few easy points. The areas where she could improve is the unforced errors — she fired a generous 38 in her opener — and her break point conversion rate.
Agianst someone like Sasnovich, who is excellent at redirecting pace, Kvitova will need to be more patient as well. If she wait for her opportunities though, the two-time former winner can safely ride her way through.
Prediction: Kvitova to win in two tight sets