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Ros Satar
Johanna Konta in the second round of the Western & Southern Open 2020, New York, USA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Johanna Konta of Great Britain serves to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium during their Women's Singles Second Round match on day five of the Western & Southern Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Tennis | WTA Gippsland Trophy 2021 | Johanna Konta [5] v Bernarda Pera | Preview & Prediction

Ros Satar
Tennis

  • Johanna Konta [5] v Bernarda Pera
  • H2H: Pera leads 2-1
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Johanna Konta faces an old nemesis in USA’s Bernarda Pera, as she starts her 2021 season in the WTA Gippsland Trophy.

 

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H2H & Match Fundamentals

Johanna Konta [5] v Bernarda Pera H2H: Pera leads 2-1
WTA 500: Gippsland Trophy R1 Melbourne, Australia
Hard (O) Prize Money: $4,250
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READ MORE | Tennis | WTA Gippsland Trophy 2021 | Katie Boulter v Anna Kalinskaya | Preview & Prediction

 

Preview: Johanna Konta [5] v Bernarda Pera | H2H: Pera leads 2-1

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2018 saw Bernarda Pera start their head to head with a win in the second round of the Australian Open, before facing British No. 1 Johanna Konta twice more in the same year. While Konta redressed the balance in Doha, Pera holds a slim lead and will feel confident after having to come back from a set behind against Aussie wildcard Olivia Gadecki.

Konta was entered into the season opener in Abu Dhabi but pulled out and looked to be working hard during quarantine, but will no doubt find herself in need of a little time to get into the swing of things.

However, she knows that she can ill-afford a slow start against Pera, who has always been quick to exploit any Konta jitters.

 

Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2020)

H2H: Johanna Konta (14) Bernarda Pera (63)
1st Serve Return Points Won % 32 33.1
Return Points Won % 40 42.1
Break Point Conversion 30.7 43.2
Break Points Saved 57.6 53.3
Total Points Won 50.8 48.7

 

Playing Styles

Expect a game that will look to batter the live out of the poor little yellow fluffies. Both play aggressively and both play fast from the baseline. Konta has tried to put in a lot more variety since she teamed up with Dimitri Zavialoff – looking to come forward and it paid dividends in the 2019 clay court season where she had the most success with Zavialoff at the helm.

 

Prediction

A season starter is always a little bit of a risk, and Konta may well have a slow start here. Pera started well in her first round match but found herself shaken as she looked to serve out for the first set, and so is a little vulnerable.

Setting aside the disruptive nature of 2020, usually if Konta’s serve is effectively firing, the rest of her game picks up, so she will need to have that serving arm locked in.

She proved to be a lot stronger than the American last year when her own serve was under pressure and overall, she tends to be a lot more consistent. Konta has experience on her side to weather the challenge, but as it is her first match, we can expect this to be a bit of a roller-coaster.

Prediction: Konta in three sets.

Konta and Pera are scheduled first on 1573 Arena at 11am (12pm GMT).

 
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