Wimbledon 2024: Donna Vekic vs Paula Badosa preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Donna Vekic vs (PR) Paula Badosa
Date: Sunday, 7 July, 2024
Tournament: Wimbledon 2024
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize: £50,000,000
Where to Watch: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | India - Disney+ Hotstar | UK - BBC | Canada - TSN
Donna Vekic vs Paula Badosa preview
The fourth round of Wimbledon 2024 will see Donna Vekic take on former World No. 2 Paula Badosa.
Vekic's form has been middling in the 2024 season. She has made some decent runs, like to the semifinal of the Linz Open (losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova) and quarterfinal at the San Diego Open (losing to Katie Boulter). Other than that, the Croatian has mostly faced early-round exits.
Vekic played at three grass-court events before coming to this year's Wimbledon. Although she was knocked out in the second rounds of both the Libema Open and the Berlin Ladies Singles, Vekic made it to the final of the Bad Homburg Open, where she lost to Daria Shnaider in three close sets.
During Wimbledon 2024, Vekic has already faced some tough matches. In the first round, she came back from a set down to win against Wang Xiyu. The second round was a comfortable straight-sets victory for the Croatian against Erika Andreeva. In the third round, Vekic knocked out 28th seed Dayana Yastremska 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-1.
Paula Badosa's form and ranking have plummeted in recent years owing to the multiple injuries the Spaniard has suffered. Badosa reached the third round of both Majors this year. She lost to Amanda Ansimova at Melbourne Park and Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros. However, she reached the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open, losing to eventual champion Diana Shnaider.
Badosa secured a straight-sets victory over Karolina Muchova and Brenda Fruhvirtova in the first two rounds at Wimbledon. However, Badosa's biggest victory came in the next round, when she defeated 14th-seeded Daria Kasatkina in three tight sets.
Donna Vekic vs Paula Badosa head-to-head
This will be the first time the two players will play each other.
Donna Vekic vs Paula Badosa odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Donna Vekic vs Paula Badosa prediction
Badosa's serving against Kasatkina left some scope for improvement, as she won only 59% of the points on her first serve. The Spaniard also made 57 unforced errors but hit 44 winners to take control of the match. The net play was also good from Badosa, as she came to the net 24 times and won 67% of those points.
On the other hand, Vekic won 81% of the points on her first serve in the match against Yastremska. On the return side, she was not as proficient, as she could only make use of 5 of her 17 break opportunities. The Croatian made 39 unforced errors and hit 24 winners in the match.
A former World No. 2, Badosa will enter the match as the favorite. Since both players played for nearly three hours in their respective third-round matches, the outcome might be decided by whose recovery is better. Both players have committed a number of unforced errors in their matches so far, so the result might also be dependent on who plays the more accurate tennis.
Pick - Badosa to win in three sets.