Jelena Ostapenko vs. Veronika Kudermetova: Preview and betting tips

Jelena Ostapenko will play Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Dubai on Saturday afternoon. The Latvian will be the paper favourite, but will she confirm that role on court?

Jelena Ostapenko is a 24-year-old player originally from Latvia. She is currently ranked 21st in the WTA rankings. However, if she manages to win the hard court title after more than two years, she would move up to 13th.

Ostapenko is in really great form at the start of 2022, which was confirmed by the semi-final in St. Petersburg, Russia. In Dubai, she took on Kenin, Swiatek, Kvitova and Halep, who she did not concede a game to in the deciding set, and as a result will play for a valuable trophy.

But her two months older opponent Veronika Kudermetova will surely want to prevent that. The Russian tennis player is ranked 31st in the WTA rankings. However, it is already certain that she will be at worst ranked 25th on Monday, which will improve her career high.

She had already played the final in Melbourne, but after 2::6 and 3::6 sets she was not able to keep up with the aforementioned Simona Halep. In Dubai, she found a recipe against Azarenka, Muguruza and Teichmann. Twice the match was decided in the third set.

In the semi-final she was to play against the great Marketa Vondrousova. However, due to an injury to her right leg, she was unable to play. The scenario from Melbourne, where Naomi Osaka had to retire in the semi-finals due to health reasons, is repeating itself.

so what to bet on? The paper favourite is Jelena Ostapenko, who shows great mental resilience. She has lost the opening set three times in a row, but has always managed to turn the match around. She should therefore dominate the first match between these players.