WTA Finals 2022: Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (5) Maria Sakkari vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka.
Date: November 2, 2022.
Tournament: WTA Finals 2022.
Round: Round robin.
Venue: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, United States.
Category: Year-ending championships.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $5,000,000.
Match timing: Not before 7 pm local time, 8 pm ET, 12 am GMT and 5:30 am IST.
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka preview
Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka are set to clash in the group stage of the 2022 WTA Finals on Wednesday.
Sakkari went up against Jessica Pegula in her first group tie. She led 2-0 in the opening set, but allowed her opponent to tie the score to make it 2-2. The Greek once again went up a break in the seventh game, but squandered her advantage immediately.
Sakkari went up a break for the third time to lead 6-5, but failed to close out the set as she lost serve. Nevertheless, she managed to clinch the set in the ensuing tie-break. The Greek jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but Pegula won the next three games in a row to level the score.
The duo remained steady on serve after this, with the American also saving a couple of match points at 6-5. With the match heading into yet another tie-break, Sakkari came out on top to win 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4).
Sabalenka commenced her campaign against two-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur. The Belarusian was outplayed in the first set, getting broken twice en route to losing the set.
The second set was off to a chaotic start as there were five breaks of serve across the first six games, with Sabalenaka holding the edge to lead 4-2. She then wasted a set point on Jabeur's serve at 5-3 and failed to serve out the set herself in the following game. The set soon went into a tie-break, with the Belarusian coming from behind to claim it.
Jabeur was the first to strike in the deciding set, going up a break to lead 3-1. With her back against the wall, Sabalenka raised her level. She fought back to level the score and then broke the Tunisian's serve in the end to notch up a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 comeback victory.
Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka head-to-head
Sabalenka leads Sakkari 4-2 in the head-to-head. The Greek won their last meeting at the 2021 WTA Finals in three sets.
Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka prediction
Sabalenka's fighting spirit was at the forefront once again as she dug deep to score a win over Jabeur. Her serve managed to hold up relatively well, but was quite wayward with her groundstrokes at times. She did admit in her post-match interview that she wasn't comfortable playing in the conditions, but managed to adapt as the match progressed.
Sakkari also scored a tight two-set win over Pegula. The Greek seemed fired up and despite a few hiccups, played quite well. Her serve was consistent for the most part and she did plenty of damage with her forehand. While she has a losing record against the Belarusian, she won their previous encounter, which coincidentally took place during last year's WTA Finals group stage.
Both have blown hot and cold this year. While Sakkari played much better in her previous match here, she's known to tighten up under pressure. Sabalenka has won quite a few close matches this season and if this one also goes down to the wire, the Belarusian might stage just another escape act.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.