Kanepi vs. Haddad Maia: Preview and betting tips

The 29th player in the world rankings will play the 39th player in Eastbourne on grass on June 22. The higher ranked player is Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. Her opponent will be Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi. They last played each other less than a month ago. But everything has changed in that time.

First, a little bit about Kanepi. She’s 37 years old and has been on the WTA circuit for a long time. She’s collected 11 singles titles in her career, most of them ITF tournaments. None of them on grass.

Even Kanepi has a negative 22::23 record on grass. Green grass is not really the Estonian’s favorite surface and I see that as the number 1 reason why she will walk off the court a loser.

The second reason is current form and spacing. At the FO Kanepi went through to the 3rd round where she finished on Gauff’s racket. She beat world number 10 Muguruza and then just Haddad Maia in the second round.

But then came the grass and the tournament in Berlin, where the Estonian took 2 canaries from Karolina Pliskova and the tournament ended for her in the opening round. She won only once out of her last 3 matches.

The Brazilian, that’s a different story. She’s currently on a 10-match winning streak. She was unbeaten in her first grass tournament in Nottingham, beating Alison Riske in the final.

A week later she lifted the trophy over her head for the second time, this time in Birmingham. Her career record on grass is a positive 22:9.

Taking only grass tournaments into account, Haddad Maia is in the best shape on the circuit. She suffered her last defeat 11 matches ago against Kanepi and has a lot to come back from. The Brazilian’s form and the surface on which the match will be played are definitely in her favour, so I believe she will win.