Karolina Muchova vs Kaia Kanepi Prediction & Betting Tips - Tallinn, Estonia, Qualifying

Prediction published on 29/09/2022, 16:08  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/09/2022 at 17:09 in Tennis Predictions

World number 32 Kai Kanepi faces wildcard Karolina Muchova in the Tallinn Open quarter finals. The winner of this match takes on either top seeded Anett Kontaveit or qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure in the last four. The 37-year-old Kanepi is playing in her first tournament since the US Open where she lost in the last 64 to Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. Kanepi is in her first quarter final since making it to the final of the Washington Open in August where she won the first set against Liudmila Samsonova but then lost the next two. This is her fourth quarter final of the year, that includes getting to the last eight of the Australian Open. This week got off to a difficult start with a match against the fifth seeded Jelena Ostapenko who was a finalist last week. Kanepi lost the first set but fought back well to oust the seeded player winning the final set 6-0. That was followed up with a straight sets win over Ann Li with both sets being won 7-5.

Karolina Muchova began this week ranked 224th but last year was as high as 19th. Injuries have caused her to drop down the rankings but this run to the last eight in Tallinn has seen her rise to 189th in the live rankings. Winning this match will see her go to 155th.but it's still going to be a long road back to the top 20. Muchova didn't return to the WTA Tour until March of this year after a seven month absence. Her best before this week was a last 16 in a WTA125 event held in Concord in August. That saw her retire in the second set, the second time that's happened since her return to the circuit. Finally, she 's made it to a quarter final, her first since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. This week has seen Muchova beat fourth seeded Madison Keys (losing just five games) and qualifier Viktorija Golubic. Muchova lost the first set in that second round match but won the next two for the loss of only a couple of games. This is her first meeting with Kanepi. Her opponent is more consistent and can get the win, though it might take three sets to do so.