Mattek-Sands B./Mirza S. - Black Cara/Rodionova Anastasia

In the H2H 9:3 matchup against Sabalenka, the majority of matches were very close and Pegula is one of the most difficult opponents for Sabalenka. Pegula has one of the best returns in women's tennis and is able to handle Sabalenka's powerful serve. Pegula is not a player who breaks down after losing a few games, even against the most aggressive opponents she maintains a close fight.
It is always more challenging to establish a big lead in games on grass. In this tournament, Sabalenka has struggled. She barely managed to win against Bartukova yesterday. She lost the first set and was trailing 0:4 in the second, but she still won the match. However, her opponent was much weaker than Pegula. Therefore, Sabalenka used a lot of emotional and physical (more than 2 hours) energy yesterday.
Pegula defeated the solid and fast player Keys 7:6 7:6 yesterday. As I mentioned before, Pegula has a great return which forces Sabalenka to make additional shots after her serve, increasing the chances of unforced errors. Sabalenka is not looking very confident in this tournament, so Pegula has a great chance to take advantage of that.

Pliskova proves that her past injuries are behind her and demonstrates an excellent game. The grass court is just perfect for her. She has one of the strongest serves in women's tennis. She finishes points quickly and has a smooth hitting style, and her low ball bounce is highly advantageous for Pliskova. Throughout her career, she has won multiple grass court tournaments and has a much more impressive record than Bouzkova. The Nottingham tournament has historically been favorable for her, with a win in 2016 and a final appearance in 2024. She feels very comfortable in this tournament once again. Overall, her displayed game does not match her ranking. The WTA recognizes her recovery and strong gameplay as one of the most intriguing stories of the season. The head-to-head record is 2-1 in Pliskova's favor, and both wins have come on fast surfaces. Her victory is secure. Additionally, Bouzkova's style also favors Pliskova. While Bouzkova is a good defender and makes few mistakes, she lacks a strong serve and often relies on long rallies, which may not work in her favor if Pliskova continues to play with excellent form and a strong first serve. Pliskova often struggles against aggressive players, but Bouzkova is not one of them. The only thing that could hinder Pliskova's win is a poor first serve, as Bouzkova is slightly better in longer rallies. However, this is not the first match in the tournament and Pliskova has been consistently performing well. Therefore, I am once again placing my bet on her with a good odds.