WTA Cincinnati — Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Lulu Sun

Hard Court • Form & Context Overview

🧠 Form & Context

Ekaterina Alexandrova

⚡ Consistent season: Had an 8-tournament streak of winning multiple matches before a surprise Montreal loss to world No. 493 Zhu Lin.

🎯 2025 highlights: Title in Linz, 7 quarterfinals across surfaces, R4 at Roland-Garros & Wimbledon.

💪 Dangerous on all courts: Aggressive baseline game, big serve, and flat groundstrokes that penetrate on hard courts.

📈 Ranking stability: Currently at a career-high No. 15, poised to surpass it with a decent US swing.

Lulu Sun

🚨 Decline in results: Former world No. 39 has failed to win back-to-back matches in 19 of her last 20 tournaments.

✅ Cincinnati start: Beat Antonia Ružić 6–4, 6–4 in R1, matching her 2024 result here.

🌱 2024 peaks: Wimbledon quarterfinalist & Monterrey finalist — beat Alexandrova in a tight SF there.

⚠️ Inconsistent season (5–10 hard-court W–L in 2025) and vulnerable to players who can take time away from her lefty patterns.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This is a power vs timing matchup. Alexandrova will look to dominate with early ball striking, flattening out her shots to rush Sun and prevent the lefty from dictating with her forehand.

Sun’s serve can earn free points, but she will need to maintain a high first-serve percentage to avoid Alexandrova pouncing on second serves.

The Kiwi’s recent struggles in stringing wins together suggest that if she doesn’t take the first set, her belief could waver quickly.

Their H2H being 1–1 shows Sun can compete if she extends rallies and draws errors — but doing that on a quick hard court against Alexandrova’s flat pace is a tall order.

🔮 Prediction

Alexandrova in 2 sets – Expect the Russian to reset after her Montreal stumble and use her aggressive baseline style to control the match. Sun could keep a set tight if she serves well, but Alexandrova’s superior form and recent season consistency should prevail.

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