WTA Linz Open Match Previews

Dominika Cibulkova vs. Elena Baltacha

Dominika Cibulkova will meet Elena Baltacha on Tuesday in round one of the Generali Ladies Linz Open.

Dominika Cibulkova is one of the top players at this year’s Generali Ladies Linz Open, and she’ll be aiming to get through to the latter stages here. She’s been in good form throughout the second half of the season, but she’s yet to win a WTA title. She has an outside chance of changing this here in Linz.

Cibulkova will begin her challenge for the title with a first round showdown against Elena Baltacha. Baltacha has the weapons necessary to give Cibulkova a serious test, but she’ll need to be consistent throughout the match to pull through.

If Baltacha brings her A-game, this could be a very exciting matchup. Both players have a decent chance of winning this one, but Cibulkova will enter the contest as the favourite. These two players have noticeably different playing styles, and it will be fascinating to see who earns a berth in round two.

Andrea Petkovic vs. Elena Vesnina

Andrea Petkovic and Elena Vesnina will meet on Tuesday in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz Open.

After reaching the final of last week’s China Open, Andrea Petkovic entered this year’s Generali Ladies Linz Open as the world No. 9. She’ll be looking to boost her ranking just one more place in order to enhance her chances of competing in the WTA Championships at the end of the season.

A lengthy run here would be hugely beneficial to Petkovic, and she’ll be hoping for a positive start on Tuesday when she takes on Elena Vesnina in round one. Vesnina hasn’t had a particularly good season, and she’s currently ranked No. 66 in the world. She’ll be considered the underdog here.

Vesnina has a 2-1 head to head record against Petkovic prior to this match. That said, Petkovic has improved tremendously this year, and she should have what it takes to get back on level terms with the Russian. If Petkovic is at her best, she should be able to get through to round two here.

Julia Goerges vs. Anastasija Sevastova

Julia Goerges will take on Anastasija Sevastova on Tuesday in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz Open.

Julia Goerges had the misfortune to run into Maria Sharapova and Maria Kirilenko in the last two weeks, and this prevented her from making any serious headway at the Toray Pan Pacific Open or the China Open. She’s playing reasonably well at the moment though, and she should be able to get her campaign in Linz off to a winning start.

She’ll step on court on Tuesday for a first round clash against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. Sevastova won the only previous matchup between the pairing, but this contest took place back in 2007 when neither player was even close to the top hundred. Goerges has made far more progression since then, and she seems to be the likely victor.

Sevastova has only won one match since the end of August, and she doesn’t appear to be much of a threat to Goerges. The German should have the upper hand, and a first round success could kick-start a serious title challenge.