Heather Watson in the second round of the 2022 Miami Open, Florida, USA
Heather Watson in the second round of the 2022 Miami Open, Florida, USA | (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Tennis | WTA Strasbourg 2022 | Watson faces Linette in second round

By Ros Satar

  • Heather Watson v Magda Linette [8]
  • H2H: Tied at 1-1
STRASBOURG, FRANCE – Heather Watson bids for some Roland Garros tuning as she advancing to the second round to face Magda Linette.

 

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Heather Watson v Magda Linette [8] | H2H: Tied at 1-1

It has been a tough season for Heather Watson who has not notched up back-to-back wins at a tournament since Miami. She dropped down to a lower tier WTA event last week but maybe caught a break with drawing a lucky loser in her opening round.

The second round though pits her against the No. 8 seed Magda Linette.

 

H2H & Match Fundamentals

Heather Watson v Magda Linette [8] H2H: Tied at 1-1
WTA Strasbourg Strasbourg, France
Clay (O) Prize Money: €3,311
Third on Patrice Dominguez, not before 2pm (1pm BST) Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial

 

Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022 – Clay)

Embed from Getty Images

H2H: Heather Watson (WR 105) Magda Linette (WR 58)
Tournament Previous Best R1 (2016) SF (2021)
1st Serve Return Points Won % 39.4 37.4
Return Points Won % 45.3 45.0
Break Point Conversion % 45.6 48.7
Break Points Saved % 51.9 59.2
Total Points Won % 50.8 51.2

Surprisingly given how many fewer matches Watson has played on clay this season, compared to Linette, the Brit matches up closely to the No. 8 seed. She is marginally stronger on return but is out-gunned when it comes to converting her break-point chances, or saving those against her.

 

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Playing Styles & Prediction

There is a lot of similarities between the two players. Both have terrific defensive skills. Both have tried to develop more aggression in their games to compete with harder strikers of the ball.

Watson at her best is known for her court coverage and versatility at the net – something you can attribute to Linette too. If Watson was on form, this could be one of these famed rollercoasters and the Brit needs a few confidence wins.

Linette is defending semi-final points from last year, and started her season well, reaching the quarter-finals of Charleston and in Saint Malo at the lower WTA 125 level. The Pole just has the edge coming into this match.

Prediction: Linette in three sets.

 

 

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