Damien Kayat previews Petra Kvitova vs Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff vs Bernarda Pera in selected round of 32 matches of the Eastbourne Invitational, on the 27th of June 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Eastbourne Invitational
Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Round of 32 Matches – 27th June
Petra Kvitova 4/7 | Jelena Ostapenko 5/4
Wow, this promises to be an absolute cracker. Both of these ladies are coming off tournament wins and both are emerging as possible dark-horse contenders for Wimbledon glory.
Petra Kvitova just won her 2nd title of the year in Berlin (she picked up that massive title in Miami earlier this season). She overcame massive weather delays to win the 6th grass-court title of her illustrious career. The former two-time Wimbledon champ is one of the greatest grass-court players of her generation, using a wonderfully economic service action to offset her mobility issues.
She won this title last year having first reached the final way back in 2011. The 31-time WTA champion is just a metronomic winning machine. However, there could be potential issues with fitness this week. She was forced to miss much of the clay-court campaign due to a foot injury.
And the congested schedule in Berlin would have really pushed her body to the limit. Will this quick turnaround be a step too far?
The ever-mercurial Jelena Ostapenko is coming off an impressive title-winning run of her own, claiming her 2nd grass-court title at the Birmingham Classic. She actually had to withstand a late Barbora Krejcikova comeback to win her first title of the season.
Ostapenko has showcased her all-court prowess in another typically erratic campaign. She reached the quarterfinals of the Aussie Open and the semi-finals on the Rome clay.
That victory in Birmingham highlighted just how dangerous the big-hitting Latvian can be on all surfaces. She has a freewheeling, uber-aggressive approach that can be devastating- especially on grass. She reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.
And she has been absolutely elite in this event, winning the 2021 edition before reaching last year’s final (where she lost to a certain Czech lefty).
Verdict: Ostapenko to win in straight sets at 14/5
This will remarkably be the 11th meeting between these great rivals. Kvitova holds a narrow advantage with a 6-4 lead in their head-to-head matches. Kvitova won their last encounter en route to this year’s Miami Open.
And she crucially beat the Latvian in straight-sets in last year’s final. But I think that you can’t underestimate the physical impact of Kvitova’s efforts in Berlin. She has been nursing a foot injury and Ostapenko is a dangerous opponent if you aren’t operating at optimum levels.
Ostapenko loves this event and I think she could pull off a minor surprise here. She will come out swinging and I can see her suffocating a jaded Kvitova.
Coco Gauff 21/100 | Bernarda Pera 29/10
It’s easy to forget that Coco Gauff is still just 19 years of age. She burst onto the scene with that incredible performance at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. She became the youngest person in history to qualify for the main draw in Wimbledon history.
She then embarked on a 4th round run that captured the imagination of the entire tennis community. And Gauff has gone from strength to strength, losing to the indomitable Swiatek in last year’s French Open final. But she still has plenty of room to grow. And I think her split from longtime coach Diego Montoya threw her a bit.
She has had to travel alone for the last two months and her performances suffered. But her hastily arranged collaboration with the mercenary Patrick Mouratoglou showed dividends with a quarterfinal run in Paris. I think she really needs a steady hand to help guide her through tricky spells.
That’s why she will be delighted with her new partnership with coach Pere Riba. She has all the tools to succeed on grass and it will be interesting to see how she fares this week.
Bernarda Pera has really emerged from the tennis wilderness over the last year or so. The lefty won her first two titles on the European clay last year (in Hamburg and Budapest). And she has managed to jink into the top 30 in the world rankings for the first time in her career after some solid tennis in 2023.
She reached the 3rd round of a Slam for just the 2nd time in her career at this year’s Aussie Open. She then reached the 4th round of a Slam for the first time in her career at the recent French Open. She actually comes into this match off a decent run of form, winning six of her last nine matches.
Her game should theoretically be better suited to faster surfaces. She serves well and loves to play aggressive, concise points. But almost all of her success thus far has come on clay. It probably makes sense when you look at her protracted backswings (also, she grew up playing on the clay). But I really think there’s massive potential in Pera on faster surfaces.
Verdict: Gauff to win in three sets at 11/5
Gauff won their only previous meeting in straight-sets at this year’s Aussie Open. Gauff’s athleticism should prove the difference in this match. But I still think that Pera could case her some problems. She has an awkward lefty serve and the ability to seriously rack up winners.
