🇭🇷 Donna Vekic vs 🇷🇺 Anastasia Zakharova

🎾 WTA London – First Round

🇭🇷 Donna Vekic vs 🇷🇺 Anastasia Zakharova

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🧠 Form & Context

Donna Vekic

• 🎢 Ranked inside the top 20, but unpredictable: 7 first-round exits in her last 11 tournaments.
• 🧱 Grass pedigree: 9 quarterfinal-or-better runs on grass, including 2023 Wimbledon semifinal.
• ❌ Exited RG in R2 after a lackluster showing against Bernarda Pera.
• 💣 Big serve, flat groundstrokes, and aggressive court positioning make her well-suited for fast surfaces like grass.

Anastasia Zakharova

• 🚪 Enters main draw after saving MP vs Carol Zhao in Q3 (6-3, 6-7, 7-6) – her first-ever WTA grass-court main draw.
• ⚠️ 2025 struggles: Only passed R1 in two tour-level events (Zaragoza title, Paris 125k R2), both on clay.
• 💪 Strong ITF performer: 3 W100 titles in the last 12 months, but still waiting on WTA-level breakthrough.
• 🧱 Lacks main-draw tour wins on fast surfaces – 0 wins on grass at any level before this week.

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🔍 Match Breakdown

Zakharova did well to qualify and is clearly a fighter, but she’ll be stepping onto a grass-court main draw for the very first time, against one of the most seasoned grass players in the field. While the Russian brings clay-court rhythm and ITF-level confidence, this matchup presents a major leap in pace and power.

Vekic’s serve and forehand can dominate this surface—especially against less experienced movers like Zakharova. However, the Croatian has been unreliable, and her tendency to fade mentally under pressure has cost her several matches to lower-ranked opposition this season.

If Zakharova can make this a scrap and extend rallies, she might draw frustration. But on grass, it's hard to survive without effective serve +1 execution—and that favors Vekic by a mile.

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🔮 Prediction

Grass levels the playing field for big hitters, but not for inexperience. Despite Vekic’s inconsistency, this is her surface and her matchup to control. Zakharova may steal a few games but the Croatian should coast through.

✅ Pick: Vekic to win in 2 sets – clean win unless she completely self-destructs
🎯 Bonus leans:

• Set betting: Vekic 2–0
• Over/Under: Under 20.5 games
• Handicap: Vekic -5.5 games