Jessica Pegula vs Daria Gavrilova Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Washington Citi Open

Prediction published on 02/08/2022, 15:42  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 02/08/2022 at 17:12 in Tennis Predictions

Jessica Pegula is the defending champion at the Washington Open but this is the first time this tournament has been held since 2019. The top seed takes on unseeded Daria Gavrilova, now using her married name Saville. This is a second round match and the winner faces either Andrea Petkovic or Rebecca Marino (both unseeded) in the last 16. Pegula beat Camila Giorgi to win this title last year and it remains her only WTA Tour tournament victory. Since her win three years ago, Pegula has reached two finals but lost them both, the most recent being in Madrid this year. The American will be wanting some good results in the coming weeks to boost her hopes of making it to the Tour Finals. Pegula is currently in fourth place in terms of ranking points earned in 2022 with quarter finals in both the Australian and French Opens. The first round of this tournament saw her beat Hailey Baptiste for the loss of just four games.

Her opponent is ranked 88th in the world but was high as 20th five years ago. The Australian is playing her first tournament since being beaten in the first round at Wimbledon. That was her third straight loss as she didn't make much impact during the grass court season. Her best results this year have been quarter finals in Guadaljara and Miami and the last 16 at Indian Wells where she beat Ons Jabeur. In the first round, the 28-year-old had to go to three sets to get past qualifier Mrjam Bjorklund, losing the first set. Pegula is mor consistent and can win this.