Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari Prediction United Cup Tennis Picks 12/30/24

Elena Rybakina carried Kazakhstan to victory over Spain in their opening tie in Group C. After compatriot Alexander Shevchenko lost to Pablo Carreno Busta, Rybakina swept aside Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second match to level the score.

The match took 17 games to decide. Rybakina landed 63% of first serves. She won 69% of first-serve points (27/39) and 65% of second-serve points (15/23).

Rybakina saved an astonishing nine out of 10 break points on her serve. The former Wimbledon champion won 57% of return points (26/46) and converted four out of five break points.

The most remarkable thing about the match is that Rybakina did not record a single or double fault. Rybakina then secured Kazakhstan's win by teaming up with Shevchenko and defeating Spain's mixed doubles pair.

Maria Sakkari Preview

In her first match since late August, Maria Sakkari succumbed to defeat in her singles match against Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. Now ranked World No. 32, Sakkari won only three games in the match despite being a colossal favorite.

She hit four aces and four double faults in the match and only landed 45% of first serves. Sakkari won 42% of first-serve points (10/24) and 31% of second-serve points (9/29).

Sakkari saved six out of 13 break points on her own serve. She won 37% of her return points (14/38) and converted both of her break points.

Sakkari had Tsitsipas to thank who defeated Carreno Busta in the men's singles, and the two of them combined to win the decisive mixed doubles.

Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari Head-To-Head

• Rybakina and Sakkari have met four times on the WTA Tour.

• Rybakina has won three of those meetings, all on hard courts.

• When they last played at the 2024 Miami Open, Rybakina won a tight quarterfinal in three sets.

Elena Rybakina vs Maria Sakkari Prediction

Rybakina did not hit a single ace in her opening match in singles, which was a big surprise. But she was still dominant on serve saving almost all of the 10 break points she faced.

The odds are very striking here with Rybakina a -1000 pre-match favorite against a player who was in the Top 10 not long ago. Sakkari's performance against Bouzas Maneiro has a lot to do with that, with the Greek only holding her serve once in the whole match. Such a considerable drop in performance levels is to be expected from Sakkari who hasn't played in months and I don't see her getting any joy against a dialed in Rybakina.