By Tony Fairbairn
- Coco Gauff [2] v Donna Vekic [13]
- Alexander Zverev [3] v Tomas Machac
- Maria Sakkari [7] v Marta Kostyuk [12]
PARIS, FRANCE – Coco Gauff will continue her gold medal bid against Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic on day four of the Olympic Games in Paris.
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Coco Gauff [2] v Donna Vekic [13] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Coco Gauff [2] v Donna Vekic [13] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
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Coco Gauff is on a mission for Olympic gold having only dropped five games in her opening two rounds so far. The American has been dominant so far but will be hoping not to peak too early with bigger tests awaiting in the rounds that matter the most. The world number two’s power, agility and tactical variety means she is tough to beat on clay but will be hoping that she can be a bit more proactive against top 20 players as she will face her biggest test of the tournament so far in the third round.
That test comes in the form of Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic as the Croatian looks to chase Olympic dreams of her own. After beating Aryna Sabalenka in Tokyo, Vekic will be looking to cause more upsets in Paris after a successful grass court season. Despite being unable to reach a first Grand Slam final, Vekic has responded well as she defeated fellow Grand Slam champion Bianca Andreescu to reach the last 16. Now Vekic will aim to continue her great run of form and enter the last eight at the Olympics.
Gauff will look to serve well and use depth as well as pace to pin Vekic behind the baseline and prevent the Croatian from being aggressive. Meanwhile Vekic will aim to create angles on the backhand side as she will look to be the one to dictate the rallies. This will be a good match but Gauff should have too much quality and variety for the in-form Croatian as this is set up to be the match of the tournament so far.
Prediction: Gauff in three sets.
Alexander Zverev [3] v Tomas Machac H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alexander Zverev [3] v Tomas Machac | H2H: First Meeting |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
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It was three years ago that Alexander Zverev claimed the biggest title of his career when he defeated Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov to win Olympic gold. Now Zverev is in Paris to defend his title and approaches his gold medal defence with plenty of form which included being inches away from winning a first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. The German will hope to continue that form over the next week as he is favourite for another Olympic medal.
A tough match awaits in the second round as Zverev faces Geneva finalist Tomas Machac. The Czech Republican produced a good clay court season which included reaching his first ATP final which on the way to that final, Machac defeated Djokovic to record his best ever career win. Now Machac will aim to cap off an incredible season by producing another incredible win at the Olympics and continuing to display his aggressive and powerful baseline play.
Zverev will continue to find a mixture of depth and power on the forehand side as he will look to take advantage of any loose second serves from Machac. Meanwhile the Czech Republican will hope to be aggressive on serve as he will need to rush Zverev’s baseline play in order to approach the net and force the shorter ball. This will be a severe test of Zverev’s clay court play but the German should edge into the third round.
Prediction: Zverev in three sets.
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Maria Sakkari [7] v Marta Kostyuk [12] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Maria Sakkari [7] v Marta Kostyuk [12] | H2H: Sakkari leads 2-1 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: N/A |
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Former Roland Garros semi-finalist Maria Sakkari would love nothing more than to win an Olympic medal for her home country Greece on one of her favourite surfaces. After a turbulent season, Sakkari has cruised through her opening two matches and will now hope that a deep run in Paris will inspire an increase in form for the rest of the season with the US Open approaching.
Next for Sakkari is Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk who’s recent form has been disappointing but has produced some encouraging performances against the top players. A powerful yet accurate style of play can see Kostyuk be a threat to any player on the tour and the 12th seed will no doubt continue to raise her game with all that her country has been through over the last couple of years.
Sakkari will aim to dominate on serve and use the forehand to change the direction of the ball as she will dictate play on serve. Meanwhile Kostyuk will need to be aggressive in order to rush Sakkari’s game and force the Greek into erratic errors. Although Kostyuk has the game to beat Sakkari, the seventh seed will have too much consistent quality with a place in the quarter-finals on the line.
Prediction: Sakkari in three sets.
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