Analysis for Dushevina-Safarova (WTA Stockholm)

Head-to-head record 0:1

Lucie Safarova from czech Republic will play Russian Vera Dushevina in the first round here. Safarova was considered to be the big talent of women´s tennis and she had a stellar season last year defeating several top players including former World No 1 Justine Henin. She plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand. Her superb timing off the ground allows her to project groundstrokes of effortless power. She is quick to spot opportunities to take the initiative, she hits many spectacular winners, and she runs like the wind. Her preferred surface is clay but she has reached the great results on hard courts as well. However, her current season is a kind of nightmare for her. She has the YTD record of 10-15 and she hasn´t collected more than 2 wins in a row yet. On the other hand, her opponent Vera Dushevina has also have pretty bad season so far. She recorded 9 wins and 10 losses this year. We think that Safarova must catch the second breath sooner or later and Dushevina could be the acceptable opponent for her. The Czech player is definitely more talented and has much better potential than her Russian opponent. Safarova has probably very low self-confidence at present but if she keeps her nerves and manages to stay focused on the match, she should be able to dominate here and odds above 2.5 seem to be fantastic.