Danka Kovinic vs Anna Bondar Prediction & Betting Tips - Lyon, France, Qualifying

Prediction published on 01/02/2023, 06:54  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 01/02/2023 at 07:54 in Tennis Predictions

Seventh seeded Danka Kovinic takes on unseeded Anna Bondar in the last 16 of the Lyon Open. The winner of this match will face either fourth seeded Petra Martic or unseeded Alycia Parks in the quarter finals. Kovinic began this tournament ranked 67th in the world but is up a couple of places in the live rankings. A win over Bondar will take her to 61st but that's still well below her career-high of 46th, though that was achieved seven years ago. Kovinic got her 2023 off to a good start with a run to the semi-finals of the Auckland Classic, losing to eventual winner Coco Gauff. It didn't go so well in the Australian Open with a three-set first round defeat by Lauren Davis, even more disappointing after winning the first set 6-1. This week has gone better with a first round victory over Viktorija Gublic for the loss of only five games.

Anna Bondar is only five places below her opponent in the latest ranking list published after the Australian Open. This year began with Bondar playing both of the Adelaide International tournaments. Only one match was won as she failed to reach the main draw in both events. Her two losses were against top 40 ranked players and the one win Bondar did achieve was over Jasmine Paolini, who was ranked 62nd at the time. In the Australian Open, Bondar reached the second round and took on Jelena Ostapenko who was the 17th seed. The first two sets were shared with 25 games being played but then the seeded player won the final set 6-0. In Lyon, Bondar got off to a good start with a straight sets win over Nuria Parrizas Dias. Her only previous match against Kovinic was in 2019, losing in straight sets. Another win for Kovinic looks likely here.