TipResumen

PREVIEW

On first glance I expected to see Anastasija Sevastova an even stronger favourite to win this First Round match against Donna Vekic than she is at the layers. After researching into this one nothing has changed and I do expect the Seeded player to move through to the Second Round after a strong performance at the US Open in 2017. It has been a mixed month on the hard courts for Sevastova who reached the Quarter Final in Montreal and was then beaten very early in Cincinnati. However the conditions in New York are probably closer to Montreal than Cincinnati so I am not too concerned by the early defeat in the second of the Premier Events that were played on the hard courts this month. Sevastova has produced some decent numbers on both the serve and return on the hard courts, but I do think she is a player that struggles to really break through against the top names. The second serve needs some work as it does for many players on the WTA Tour, but Sevastova has a decent first serve and backs that up with a strong return game which is expected to give her opponent some troubles. Donna Vekic had a mixed few weeks on the hard courts too having reached the Final in Washington and coming within a point of winning the title but then failing to Qualify for the Cincinnati main draw. The 11-10 record on the hard courts may not show it, but the 22 year old has made some slight improvements in her overall numbers on the surface in 2018 compared with 2017 but I am not convinced that is enough to challenge Sevastova. The numbers are stronger against top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts in 2018 compared with 2017, but they are still not convincing numbers and I do think Sevastova can continue her dominance of this match up. Sevastova has beaten Vekic in all three previous matches which have all been played on the hard courts, while the Latvian's last two wins have come at the US Open in 2017 and Doha in 2018 in straight sets. It feels that is the most likely outcome of this one too and I will back Sevastova to cover the number in a win.



PREDICTION

I will back the favourite to win and cover the number in this First Round match.