WTA French Open – Anastasia Potapova vs Yuliia Starodubtseva

WTA French Open – Anastasia Potapova vs Yuliia Starodubtseva

🧠 Form & Context

Anastasia Potapova
💥 Great Escape: Recovered from 2–5 in the final set to beat Linda Noskova, showing real grit in a 5–7, 6–1, 7–5 comeback.
📉 Inconsistent prep: Just one multi-win event in her last six tournaments, though she won the title in Cluj-Napoca and made R4 in Madrid.
🧱 Clay credentials: Has now reached R3 at Roland-Garros in both 2022 and 2023, proving she can build momentum here.
👀 On the brink: Still seeking her first true second-week Slam breakthrough.

Yuliia Starodubtseva
🎁 Lucky but lucky enough? Came into the draw as a lucky loser after getting only four games against Bejlek in the qualies final.
🔁 Bounceback: Took full advantage of her lifeline to defeat Tamara Korpatsch in three sets — her second career Slam win.
📉 Flat season: Before Paris, had failed to win a main-draw match in 17 of her last 18 events. Her R4 run in Rome is the lone highlight.
🎢 Wild trajectory: Top 100 debut in late 2024 now feels like distant history amid a tough 2025 campaign.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Potapova enters this clash with more tools, more experience at this level, and significantly more upside. While her form is patchy, she’s far better suited to absorbing pressure and resetting during tough momentum swings — something that saved her in R1.

Starodubtseva’s serve remains a liability, and her rally tolerance could be brutally exposed on slower clay. Unless she hits an unsustainable number of winners, she’ll be in trouble once Potapova settles into the baseline patterns.

Still, Potapova’s tendency to lose focus — especially against lower-ranked players — remains a concern. She’ll need to stay engaged from the start.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Potapova in 2 sets – The Russian should comfortably move into R3 if she maintains composure.