Anastasija Sevastova vs Sloane Stephens Prediction & Betting Tips - ATX Open

Prediction published on 28/02/2024, 05:00  by Ian John in Tennis Predictions

Second seed Sloane Stephens takes on another experienced player in Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in the second round of the WTA ATX Open in Austin. The elegant American is ranked 43rd in the current Live WTA Rankings after her 6-4, 6-0 victory over Czechia qualifier Tereza Martincova in the first round. That victory was her fifth of the year so far from ten matches and only her second in her last five matches. Stephens is a former US Open Champion and French Open finalist and has been ranked as high as 3rd in the world, but she has won just one WTA tournament since 2018. One positive for Stephens is that she is getting 72.9% of her first serves in so far this season, which is a career high and her double fault percentage is also at a career best 2%, although it is still early in the season. Despite that, those stats will give her a good chance against her Latvian opponent.

Anastasija Sevastova has tumbled down the rankings in recent years due to hardly playing in 2022 and 2023. The experienced 33-year-old was ranked as high as 11th at one time in her career but has been sliding down the rankings during this period of semi-retirement. She did win two games in her last tournament, the Transylvanian Open in Cluj Napoca, defeating Andreea Mitu 6-2, 6-3 and then Elina Avanesyan retired in the third set with the match poised at 1-1. However, she lost in straight sets to Jaqueline Cristian in the quarterfinal. Sevastova was in good form in her Round of 32 game in Austin, defeating Julia Riera 6-4, 6-3. The winner of this tie will go on to face either Anna Karolina Schmiedlova or qualifier Sachia Vickery in the quarter final.