Marie Bouzkova - Veronika Kudermetova predictions and free betting tips [26/05/2024]

Two players who are not fans of clay court tournaments, Marie Bouzkova and Veronika Kudermetova, will battle it out for a spot in the 1/32 finals of Roland-Garros. There is no clear favourite or underdog in this match, which means we can expect some intrigue.

Marie Bouzkova

The Czech tennis player holds a position in the top 50, occasionally showing good results, but Bouzkova is not among those who can win any highly prestigious trophy.

Last season, as usual, Maria aimed to perform well on hard courts, where her playing style fits perfectly with the surface. Her best result in the previous season was the final in Nanchang, where Bouzkova lost in an all-Czech battle to Katerina Siniakova.

This year started off decently for Maria, with a quarterfinal appearance in Auckland, but then a series of misfortunes followed. However, Bouzkova reached the final of the clay tournament in Bogota, defeating many tough opponents before losing the trophy match to Maria Osorio. Subsequently, it was a Challenger in Strasbourg, where Bouzkova only managed to defeat Jessika Ponchet before losing to Cristina Bucsa, in a match where both players struggled with their serve but excelled in returns, finding the Spanish player better in rallies.

In her match against Veronika Kudermetova, there will be many unforced errors and service game slips. The outcome will depend on whether Bouzkova can refine her tennis in the rallies or not.

Veronika Kudermetova

Clay courts are not particularly favoured by Kudermetova, making clay tournaments challenging for her. Despite this, she cannot skip these events as they have a direct impact on her ranking.

Interestingly, in Charleston 2021, the Russian player won a clay tournament, though the surface there is somewhat harder, still relatively soft and inconvenient for Veronika's playing style.

Last season, Kudermetova made it to the semifinals of clay Masters in Madrid and Rome, but she struggled in the first-round match at the French Open against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Following that was the final in 's-Hertogenbosch, where Kudermetova lost to compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in a tough match. Although she faced some setbacks later, she clinched a WTA 500 title in Tokyo, surpassing even Iga Swiatek and defeating Jessica Pegula in the final. It would be fair to consider the 2023 tennis year successful for Kudermetova, but it seems she lacks the prowess for significant trophies like the WTA 1000 titles.

This season, Veronika has only 7 victories, 3 of which are on clay. Her performances in Masters tournaments have been poor, although she defeated Barbora Krejcikova and nearly edged Elena Rybakina at the preceding tournament in Stuttgart. Nonetheless, Kudermetova is currently in poor form, even on hard courts.

Maria Bouzkova seems to be a suitable opponent for Kudermetova. The Czech player is not very proficient on clay and is better prepared than the Russian, yet she cannot be considered the favourite in a match against Veronika. Therefore, the first-round match will be a good test of strength for Kudermetova.

Head-to-Head

Overall score is 3:2 in Veronika's favour, but on clay courts, they have met twice, with one match being last year's Masters in Rome, where Kudermetova defeated Bouzkova in straight sets.

Prediction: Marie Bouzkova vs. Veronika Kudermetova

I'm betting on TO 22.5 games. A three-set match is also a possibility here.