ITF W100 Dubai - (A) Match (in between) Practice

Match or Practice?

The "preseason tournament" in Dubai continues and has some interesting matches to offer today. One of them will be the second round encounter between #2 seed Viktoria Kuzmova from Slovakia and Romanian Ana Bogdan.

Most of the players here in Dubai are already preparing for the new tennis season, so results don't matter too much. While looking to get (back) into shape, the matches they play feel more like practice matches in-between prolonged workout sessions.

Different ways to end 2019

The 2019 season ended pretty different for Kuzmova and Bogdan. While Kuzmova pretty much regressed after clinching a career high ranking of #43 back in May, Bogdan ended her season on a high. In November, she won the ITF 25k event in St. Etienne after reaching the semifinal at the 60k in Nantes the week before. In these tournaments, she beat opponents such as Dodin and Diatchenko (twice), who had great end-of-season runs themselves.

Viktoria Kuzmova surely has the higher ceiling of the two players, but I doubt we will see too much of that in today's match. The Slovak did reach the final here last year, so that might be a little extra motivation. Anyway, for young players like her, losing a few points in ITF events doesn't matter that much. It's more important for her to find some form again. In her first round win over Aleksandra Krunic, her talent did flash a couple of times.

Vacay Mood

Again, when Kuzmova and Bogdan face each other in perfect conditions and both are on top of their game, the Slovak has to be the favorite. I'm just not sure if that's the case here in Dubai. In the offseason, the 21-year-old traveled a lot with her coach and now boyfriend Tomas Hruncak, including a beach vacation on the Maldives. Enjoying some time off tennis is important for sure and new love might be a motivational factor, but Kuzmova only started training again recently.

I just think that Bogdan's overall fitness is a tier above Kuzmova's, especially after her extended holidays. The Romanian also played her first round match on Monday while Kuzmova is playing on back to back days. Another aspect that doesn't seem too substantial, but it could make an impact in the preseason. All things considered, I see value in Ana Bogdan as an underdog.