Sofia Kenin vs Cristina Bucsa Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Rome

Prediction published on 09/05/2023, 05:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 09/05/2023 at 06:54 in Tennis Predictions

Sofia Kenin and Cristina Bucsa will square off in the first round of the WTA Rome Open on Tuesday afternoon in what promises to be an entertaining match.  The winner will have a tough task in round two with seconc seed and recent Madrid champion Aryna Sabalenka the scheduled opponent. After an excellent start to the season, where she reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Bucsa struggled to kick on, bowing out in the qualifiers in Lyon and Dubai. The Spaniard has looked slightly better since stepping on the clay last month, with a round of 32 appearance in Charleston and a round of 16 exit in Stuttgart. Bucsa reached her peak ranking ahead of this tournament, currently 66th in the world, and is now 12-9 for the year and 4-3 on the clay surface. The Spaniard will know that her opponent is not yet at her best, but she cannot be underestimated. 

Meanwhile, Sofia Kenin has continued to battle back to full fitness following a string of injuries over the last year and a bit that has evidently affected the American’s performances. Kenin was ranked in the top 10 players in the world ahead of Wimbledon 2021, but following an extended absence, she started this year ranked 227th and has worked hard to bring that to 134th at present. The American has struggled to put a meaningful run of results together and has only gotten past the second round of a tournament once to date this season. It’s been a similar story on the clay, defeated in the second round at Charleston and in the first round in Madrid last month. Kenin is now 9-10 for the year and will need to be at her absolute best to get the best of Bucsa in this one.