Hello everyone! Today, we'll mull over the women's tournament in the Masters series taking place in Montreal. Today's agenda is the clash of two intriguing tennis players who are distantly positioned in the world rankings' WTA top 50. Danielle Collins, representing the States, will be competing against Maria Sakkari from Greece.
Let's dissect this face-off more closely, as it promises to be a thrilling spectacle.
American player Collins frequently encounters hurdles due to injuries which prevent her from training rigorously and achieving her goals. These intermittent obstacles don't enable Collins to get in shape for the 'main' events. However, the year 2021 saw Danielle prepared for achievements, hence she bagged two trophies enhancing her awards portfolio.
This year is turning out to be troublesome for Collins again. Minor injuries and faltered physical state sometimes betray her. Addressing these issues is arduous as at any moment, she can lose her gaming rhythm. Collins' schedule for the present season mostly included grand tournaments to preserve her high position in the world rankings. The highlight was the semi-finals in Austin where Collins displayed inconsistent levels of tennis. Further setbacks followed, with consequential intervals between tournaments.
Collins headed to Montreal after a disastrous loss in the USA's capital, where Danielle failed to overtake Russian player Ludmila Samsonova in their initial match. Collins faced a difficult qualifying round at the main canadian '1000' event. An absurd game against Eugenie Bouchard ensued, which demonstrated erratic tennis heavily dependent on players' serving reliability. Following this, a heated duel against Emina Bektas featured a flamboyant second-set tie-break wherein Collins let her opponent escape four match points. In the first round of the main draw, Danielle surprised with a victory over Elina Svitolina who found no answer to the American's fast offensive play.
The next game pits Danielle against Maria Sakkari, where we'll witness a battle of speed and endurance. The ladies are likely to deliver unsteady serves, focusing on rallies. Collins needs to be audacious in this match as her rival tactically uses her aggressive style of play to gain the upper hand.
The Greek tennis player has tirelessly worked on various courts, deserving far more than just a solitary 'main' trophy that she seized four years ago in North Africa. Since then, Sakkari has reached finals but hasn't been successful in clinching titles.
This year, Maria boasts five semi-finals in her record. However, she fell short each time. She reminds me of her compatriot and companion Stefanos Tsitsipas who, in his tour, also disappointingly ends tournaments due to losses to superior or better-prepared opponents. Indeed, the Greek tennis player needs to outmanoeuvre her rivals in matches when the ball is in Sakkari's court.
Prior to journeying to Montreal, Sakkari managed to perform admirably in Washington, reaching the finals. However, her match against Corey Gauff was unsuccessful. The current '1000' event kicks off for Maria with a match against another american – Danielle Collins. If the Greek girl continues with her hard work delivering quality tennis, she will effortlessly advance to the tournament's next round.
In clashes between the ladies, Sakkari leads with a 2:0 victory, having won both matches on hard courts but had to resort to the third set twice.
I won't be suggesting an outlandish bet. One must place a stake on Sakkari, whose game will undoubtedly be more convincing and strategic than Collins' style of play.
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