2021 Wimbledon Championships First Round – Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
Where is Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina taking place? Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina will take place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England
When is Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina on and what time does it start? Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina will take place on Monday 28th June, 2021 – not before 14:15 (UK) / 09:15 (US EST)
What surface is Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina being played on? Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina will be played on an outdoor grass court
Where can I get tickets for Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina
What channel is Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina on? Coverage of Wimbledon is shared between BBC and Eurosport
Where can I stream Kristina Mladenovic vs Elena Rybakina? If televised on BBC, this match can be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. If the match is televised on Eurosport, subscribers can stream the match live on Eurosport Player
THE LOWDOWN
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC
World number 59 Kristina Mladenovic has played a full compliment of grass-court tournaments this month and reached the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open before struggling at Birmingham and Eastbourne. The Frenchwoman is a seasoned Doubles pro having won the Australian Open twice and Roland-Garros three times, though as a Singles player her best results are reaching the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros and the US Open. 27-year-old Mladenovic is seeded second in the Women’s Doubles here with Timea Babos with whom she has won four of her five Grand Slam titles in Women’s Doubles.
ELENA RYBAKINA
Elena Rybakina played exceptionally well at the Eastbourne International but fell at the semi-final stage to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko. World number 20 Rybakina reached a career-high 17th last season just before the pandemic hit and she has two WTA titles to her name so far. The Kazakh was still a little under the radar until Roland-Garros this season, where she knocked out Serena Williams in the round of 16. Rybakina then went on to lose to eventual runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with whom she is playing Women’s Doubles at SW19. The 22-year-old will be seeded for her Wimbledon debut here with that quarter-final exit at Roland-Garros her best showing at a major yet.
THE PREDICTION
Kristina Mladenovic has won a total of 25 titles in her illustrious career although just one of those has come as a Singles player. The Frenchwoman is a seasoned pro but should find this a tough first round draw against the world number 20 who could well be a dark horse for very deep run indeed. Rybakina still has plenty of room to improve in her powerful game but the 22-year-old should already be too strong for her opponent in this first meeting. Take the Kazakh to win in straight sets here as she proved herself an excellent competitor on the grass by reaching the semi-finals in Eastbourne last week.
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