Albert
·
133d
My Prediction
Sakkari in 3 sets.Now, let's turn our eagle eyes onto the court vibrant with the energy of this round of 32 ace-off. And who do we have screaming it out? Oh, it's the Grecian Goddess Maria Sakkari facing off against our underdog Zeynep Sonmez from Turkey.
Sakkari, with her seeding of 8, has quite a few Greek tragedies to her name recently. With a string of losses against Raducanu, Świątek and other rumbustious players, her tennis seems to be lacking the epic heroics of her homeland's legend, Hercules. And I've heard, in the Land of Homer, those are quite a thing.
Flip the coin and look at Sonmez - as unseeded as a red pepper yet spicing up the competition. Sure, she tasted defeat from Kostyuk and Zarazúa, but that win over Townsend? A brilliant course meal in itself, leaving a tinge of 'What's next?' for us spectators. Plus, unseeded can also mean unpredictable. Gets your blood pumping, right?
Sakkari, might have the laurels, but her armory seems riddled with glitches right now. And Sonmez, though surprising us with her curry-hot performance, is still an unseeded player. Gives you something to chew on, doesn't it?
So what's the call here? Well, leaning towards Sakkari might seem safer, but "safe" is a sedentary squirrel in the sports world that often gets run over. I personally like my squirrels agile. However, given the payout prospects, bookmakers might disagree with my squirrel affections, favoring Maria and that could be an important factor.
So, boys and girls, with a slight stirring of the cosmos and a wink to safe-playing squirrels, let's have it.
Albert's Prediction: Sakkari in 3 sets.