- Johanna Konta [19] v Sorana Cirstea
- H2H: Konta leads 2-1
PARIS, FRANCE – Johanna Konta arrives in Paris very much undercooked and against Sorana Cirstea, who has lost just one match on clay this year.
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Johanna Konta [19] v Sorana Cirstea
Despite having a draw that looks relatively favourable on paper, Johanna Konta comes in with very little solid match play behind her. She has yet to pick up back to back wins, and despite her landmark run on 2019 on the terre battue, she is in search of some much needed match wins and the confidence it brings to her performance.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Johanna Konta [19] v Sorana Cirstea | H2H: Konta leads 2-1 |
| Roland Garros | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €60,000 |
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Sorana Cirstea’s best performance was the quarter-final in just her second appearance but since then has struggled to make it past the first week, but her performance this season has been strong with the Istanbul title and the Strasbourg semi-final.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2021 – Clay)
| H2H: | Johanna Konta (WR 20) | Sorana Cirstea (WR 61) |
| Tournament Previous Best | SF (2019) | QF (2009) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 35.9 | 42.7 |
| Return Points Won % | 41.2 | 48.5 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 36.8 | 46.3 |
| Break Points Saved % | 60.6 | 45.7 |
| Total Points Won % | 47.8 | 52.3 |
The stats are not really a surprise here. Konta has played so little, and even less comparatively on the clay, so Cirstea looks to be the favourote in all but her ability to fend off break points.
Playing Styles & Prediction
With Konta, you know it will be a hard-hitting and aggressive game and it comes down to whether she can mix up her game enough to keep Cirstea guessing.
The Romanian actually has a deceptively powerful game with a serve to match but what can let her down is her push to go for winners which can make her game quite erratic, but she moves well about the court and has good finesse at the net.
Konta might well find herself being moved around a lot and sometimes rushed, but if that serve is working well she can keep herself in here – and she did beat Cirstea on home turf (well… dirt) and under quite some duress in that controversial Fed Cup tie in Romania.
Prediction: Konta in three sets.
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