Elina Avanesyan vs Petra Martić Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Iasi Open

Prediction published on 22/07/2024, 12:50  by Ian John | Modified on 22/07/2024 at 13:14 in Tennis Predictions

Elina Avanesyan faces Petra Martic in the second round of the UniCredit Iasi Open in Romania. The right-handed Russian has been in good form on clay, winning five of her last seven on the surface. Her vastly experienced opponent comes into the match trying to stop herself drifting down the rankings, where she has dropped from 58th in March down to 99th at present.  Our prediction is that it could be another tough match ahead for the 33-year-old Croatian.

Last week, Avanesyan was in action in Budapest, and she defeated fifth-seed Magdalena Frech and Rebeka Masarova before running into Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the quarterfinals, losing in three sets to the Slovakian. If there is a criticism of her performances it is that she hasn't won a title since the W100 in Wiesbaden in Germany back in May 2023.

However, for this match Avanesyan can draw on the fact that she met Martic in a qualifier for Eastbourne and ran out a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 winner against the more experienced Croatian.  She warmed up for this rematch with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Leyre Romero Gormaz in the first round in Iasi. 

It has been a tough time for Petra Martic lately. Her last tournament victory was back in July 2022, when she won on clay in Lausanne. She reached the semifinal in the Makarska 125 in June and the quarterfinals on the hard courts of Auckland in January, but other than that, she has struggled to make any deep runs into tournaments. Her three wins in Makarska were the first time since Auckland that she won back-to-back matches in a tournament.

She will hope her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz is a sign of an improvement in form, but she is running into an opponent in confident mood here.