Harriet Dart in the third round of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, USA
Harriet Dart in the third round of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, USA | (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Tennis | WTA Nottingham 2022 | Dart, Burrage and Watson start Nottingham campaigns

By Ros Satar

  • Harriet Dart v Donna Vekic
  • Heather Watson v Katie Volynets
  • Jodie Burrage v Zhu Lin
NOTTINGHAM, UK – Heather Watson, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson all in action in Nottingham openers.

 

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Harriet Dart v Donna Vekic | H2H & Match Fundamentals

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Harriet Dart v Donna Vekic H2H: First Meeting
WTA Nottingham UK
Grass (O) Prize Money: $2,725
First on Centre Court, at 12pm BST BBC Sport

2017 champion Donna Vekic has recently seen an uptick in her performance after coming back from injuries that have left her on the sidelines for most of the past six months. With her ranking having dropped she had to play qualiies for the French Open.

Harriet Dart will be looking to regain her best form this year, which saw her reach the fourth round at Indian Wells, having come through qualifying, as well as finally cracking the Top 100 earlier this year.

Vekic is no slouch on grass but will still be trying to regain some form, but nevertheless it is a tough openers for Dart.

Prediction: Dart in three sets.

 

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Heather Watson v Katie Volynets |H2H & Match Fundamentals

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Heather Watson v Katie Volynets H2H: Watson leads 1-0 (Qualifying)
WTA Nottingham UK
Grass (O) Prize Money: $2,725
Second on Centre Court, not before 1:30pm BST BBC Sport

It feels as though Heather Watson still needs to kickstart her year, with a spot in the third round as her best result so far this year, but grass is a surface that can suit Watson’s game well – if she has confidence.

Katie Volynets has had her best results this year on ITF events but has struggled to make much of an impact on the main draws at tour events, and indeed Watson beat her in qualifying in Cincinnati last year.

But a Watson match is a guaranteed rollercoaster.

Prediction: Watson in three sets.

 

 

Jodie Burrage v Zhu Lin |H2H & Match Fundamentals

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Jodie Burrage v Zhu Lin H2H: Burrage leads 1-0 (ITF)
WTA Nottingham UK
Grass (O) Prize Money: $2,725
Fourth on Court 1, not before 3:30pm BST BBC Sport

 

One player who has had a chance to flex a bit of muscle on grass has been Jodie Burrage, who reached the semi-finals of the ITF Surbiton Trophy, and beat Zhu Lin in the opening round, so should come into this match with a lot of confidence.

Zhu’s successes this year have come at OTF events but with a W/L record of 11/20 on grass, it is probably safe to say that this is not a surface she feels the most comfortable on.

Out of all the opening rounds, Burrage has the most winnable.

Prediction: Burrage in two sets

 

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