Ostapenko vs. Kudermetova 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Final Picks (Archive)
56 women started out with championship hopes in the WTA Premier event in Dubai this week. Now only two remain.
When Jelena Ostapenko and Veronika Kudermetova meet in the final, who will be the winning WTA pick?
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Veronika Kudermetova
Saturday, February 19, 2022 – 10:00 AM EST at Center Court
Jelena Ostapenko Betting Preview
Jelena Ostapenko got off to a slow start in her semifinal match against Simona Halep. Ostapenko only made 57% of her first serves and only won 33% (4-12) of her second serves en route to get broken twice and dropping the first set 6-2. Simona Halep was in form and it appeared that Ostapenko's recent brilliant play might be diminished in this match.
Jelena Ostapenko bounced back in the second set. She raised her first-serve percentage to 72% and won 50% (5-10) of second-serve points. She was only broken once in the second set and broke Simona Halep's serve once to lead to a second-set tiebreak.
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Ostapenko was absolutely dominant in the tiebreak, not even ceding 1 point to Halep. This set the stage for her third set where her dominance continued as she won 6-0. This was Jelena Ostapenko at her best; blistering winners and painting lines on her way to a dominating victory.
Simona Halep seemed overwhelmed at this point and Ostapenko was able to take advantage with her great play. Now she takes all this momentum into the final against Veronika Kudermetova.
Veronika Kudermetova Betting Preview
Veronika Kudermetova had a much easier path in the semifinals as her opponent Marketa Vondrousova withdrew. Vondrousova suffered a right adductor injury a few days ago and she stated that it got progressively worse as the tournament progressed. In order to prevent further injury, Vondrousova decided to withdraw as she felt that she was continuing to exacerbate the injury.
This gives Veronika Kudermetova a little bit of rest going into the final tonight. Kudermetova has had an impressive run here defeating former Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza in the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Jil Teichmann in a match that we gave out the winner here at Bookmakers Review.
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As forecasted in the article, Kudermetova was able to use her power to overcome the defensive Teichmann. Kudermetova and Ostapenko are very similar in the fact that they are both streaky players who prefer a powerful, aggressive style. When they are on, they are both excellent.
Veronika Kudermetova has made one final this season in Melbourne. Coincidentally, she also received a walkover in the semifinal when Naomi Osaka withdrew. In that final, she lost 6-2, 6-3 to Simona Halep. Kudermetova reached two finals in 2021. She won the tournament in Charleston and was the runner-up in Abu Dhabi.
Betting Analysis
Both Kudermetova and Ostapenko will be looking for their first title of the 2022 season. Each woman is 8-3 this season and both are 24 years old. The similarities do not end there, both have powerful groundstrokes and are strong at the net.
This is because both women are accomplished doubles players. In a time when playing doubles is often eschewed, there has been a recent trend of women improving their skills on the doubles tour, and translating that success to singles play.
Betting Prediction
In this match, I do like Jelena Ostapenko to get the win, according to the current WTA odds. Both women are playing some of their best tennis this season, but I feel that Ostapenko’s ceiling is higher than Kudermetova's.
Both women have excellent first serves, but I give Ostapenko the advantage on the groundstrokes (when they are going in). Ostapenko should have the advantage in forehand to forehand rallies. Both women have above-average backhands, so the backhands should be a wash when it comes to our handicap.
This will be a challenging match for Veronika Kudermetova. She will be forced to play defense more often than she likes. Jelena Ostapenko is one of the few women on tour that can dial up groundstrokes more powerful than Kudermetova.
The Latvian professional will be using her power to force Kudermetova into a defensive position. That will be the difference in this match for Jelena Ostapenko.
WTA Dubai Pick
Ostapenko’s resurgence has flown under the radar because she has not had any high-profile Grand Slam results. Yet she has quietly worked her way back into the top 20 in the rankings and is poised to be a top player in 2022.
I believe that she will lift the trophy in this tournament, as her power will simply be too much. In a battle of power versus power, I believe that Ostapenko has the advantage. Our best bet for the WTA Dubai is Jelena Ostapenko at -3 games.
WTA Pick: Jelena Ostapenko -3 Games (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.