It’s time for the battle of two debutants at the Internationaux de Strasbourg! The world number 6 tennis star from the Czech Republic, Marketa Vondrousova takes on Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the QF. Two of Vondrousova’s last three matches were decided on three sets. Even Kalinina’s previous two matches also saw a three-set thriller. So, are we heading for yet another three-setter in the QF of the Internationaux de Strasbourg?

Vondrousova loves taking the match deep, she likes to play the rallies strategically. Both of them have been in some decent form this year but they have failed to win a trophy so far this season. Marketa Vondrousova has reached one QF and one SF in her previous tournaments this year. While Kalinina has reached two SFs in her previous tournaments before this. It’ll be interesting to see if the Ukrainian can reach her third SF this season with a win against Vondrousova.

Marketa Vondrousova vs Anhelina Kalinina: Preview

Marketa Vondrousova defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech in her previous match in Strasbourg. She defeated her with a margin of 5-7,6-1,6-0 and this comeback victory will boost her confidence for the rest of the tournament. Vondrousova hit six aces and committed seven double faults against the Polish tennis star.

Her first-serve win percentage was around 76% and her second-serve win percentage was 55%. She successfully converted six of her nine breakpoints in that match. If we look at her numbers from this season, Vondrousova has hit 55 aces and committed 73 double faults so far. She has won 63.2% of her service games, while it’s just 42% when it comes to her return games.

Anhelina Kalinina will enter this contest after snatching a hard-fought victory in her previous two matches. Kalinina defeated France’s Fiona Ferro by 6-3,3-6,6-0 in her previous match. She hit just a single ace in the entire match and committed four double faults. Her first-serve win percentage was 64% while it was just 58% on the second-serve. The Ukrainian tennis star converted seven of her fourteen breakpoints against the French opponent.

Kalinina has hit 31 aces so far this season and has committed 61 double faults. She has won 58.1% of her service games and 37% of her return games this season. Both tennis stars have previously met three times in their career. But who’s currently leading the H2H scoreline?

Vondrousova vs Kalinina: Head-to-Head

Currently, Anhelina Kalinina leads the H2H record with a 2-1 scoreline. They had first met each other in 2015 in Bratislava. In that match, Anhelina Kalinina defeated Marketa Vondrousova by 6-2,6-4. Their second meeting was at the 2022 ITF Shrewsbury, GB and in that match, Vondrousova took her revenge on the Ukrainian by winning the match in two sets.

However, their latest meeting came at the China Open in 2023. Anhelina Kalinina snatched a three-set victory in that match over the Czech tennis star. Kalinina hit two aces in the entire match and committed seven double faults. Whereas, Vondrousova hit four aces and committed nine double faults. Marketa Vondrousova won 67% of her first serve and 50% of her second serve in that match. Surprisingly, the numbers for the first-serve and second-serve win percentages were also the same for Anhelina Kalinina. But Vondrousova could manage to convert just four of her ten breakpoints in that match. However, the Polish tennis star managed to convert five of her seven breakpoints.

Prediction: Vondrousova to win in three sets

So as things look like this is yet going to be a three-set thriller. Converting the half chances into winners will be the key to success in this nail-biting contest. Marketa Vondrousova has a win-loss record of 11-8 this season, whereas Anhelina Kalinina has a record of 14-13. Vondrousova has the experience of performing in the bigger stages of the game. In fact, she has reached the finals of the French Open in 2019. Clay courts are her favorite surface and she has grown up playing on these surfaces.

Vondrousova is one of the best returners in the women’s tour. Her signature shot is the drop shot and she can play some really crafty brand of tennis. She loves mixing up her wide variety of shots and making things tougher for her opponents. On the other hand, Anhelina Kalinina usually plays her best tennis on clay courts. Both the players have won at least 100 matches on clay in their careers. Although, Kalinina currently leads the H2H. But looking at Vondrousova’s experience in playing on the bigger stages on clay court surfaces. The left-handed world number 6 looks slightly ahead of right-handed number 56.