Rabat Open: Sada Nahimana vs Ajla Tomljanovic
08:00 AM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Sada Nahimana / Ajla Tomljanovic (TBC)
Sada Nahimana vs Ajla Tomljanovic Preview
Sada Nahimana is making her third main draw appearance at the Rabat Open. Last year, she produced her best run, where she qualified with two wins and earned a first round win over El Aouni in the first round. Nahimana enters this year’s edition ranked 266th and is Burundi’s most prominent tennis player, and she will relish the chance to impress on African soil as the WTA makes a rare stop in this part of the continent.Nahimana has picked up some decent results in recent weeks, competing on clay after a disjointed start to the year where she lost three matches in a row. Her current win-loss record on clay stands at 13-7, having reached two finals on the ITF, one of those being in her home country. Unfortunately for Nahimana, she came up short in both finals. Last week, she competed at the Zagreb ITF and reached the semifinals, where she lost to Erika Andreeva in three sets.
Ajla Tomljanovic is a former Top 40 player, but is currently ranked 88th in the rankings. This will be her fourth main draw appearance at the Strasbourg Open. Tomljanovic last featured in this WTA 500 event back in 2020 and lost in the opening round. Before that, she made the quarterfinals in 2015 in what remains her best result in this tournament.
Tomljanovic has compiled 9 wins and 11 losses this season. On clay, she has one win and lost her five times, with the most surprising of those defeats coming in the first round of the Italian Open over a week ago. She entered the tournament as a lucky loser but lost to home qualifier Noemi Basiletti in straight sets.
Sada Nahimana vs Ajla Tomljanovic Head-To-Head
Nahimana and Tomljanovic have never faced off before this, so this will be their first career meeting.Sada Nahimana vs Ajla Tomljanovic Prediction
I think an upset is worth considering here, given how dismally Tomlajnovic has fared on clay. She’s lost five of her six matches this year and was outplayed by Basiletti in the Rome main draw. Her serve has lacked reliability and her movement on clay has not been up to par in recent weeks. Nahimana has played clay-court tennis for most of her career and can play longer points. The slower conditions in Rabat should level the gap.