Tennis BETTING PREVIEW - Linda Noskova vs Varvara Gracheva

Tennis

2026-02-10 - Linda Noskova vs Varvara Gracheva

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Linda Noskova vs Varvara Gracheva
Tennis : WTA 1000 Doha Second Round
Tuesday 10th February 2025 - Scheduled 3pm
12pm (British Time)

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Preview

One of the more surprising names in the top 20 of the World Rankings on the WTA Tour is Linda Noskova, but the 21 year old is improving as a player. She did reach the Quarter Final at the Australian Open in 2024 and the Fourth Round at Wimbledon last year, but the majority of her better work has been done below the Grand Slam level and that does mean there are some big Ranking points to be earned with strong efforts at the Majors.

That did not go to plan in Melbourne last month when Linda Noskova was beaten in the Third Round, although she did make some use of the her Seeding for a third Slam in a row.

Strong runs in Asian events after the US Open helped the young player improve her World Ranking and Linda Noskova arrived in Doha twelve months after entering the tournament as the World Number 33.

A convincing First Round win will have given Linda Noskova some confidence and her numbers are solid on the hard courts, even if they are far from spectacular. Importantly Noskova has tended to beat those players she should and has won thirteen of the sixteen matches played against those Ranked outside the top 50 on the hard courts over the last twelve months.

The first serve has been a big weapon for Linda Noskova in the majority of her hard court matches, as it was in the First Round win over Maya Joint, and she will need to use that shot to keep Varvara Gracheva at bay.

Early losses to Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina have made it a slow start to the season for the World Number 73, but she has come through two Qualifying matches and beaten Laura Siegemund in the First Round here in Doha. The performance level in the three wins here have been impressive, but Varvara Gracheva would be the first to admit that this is a different kind of test and the fact is that she has struggled to compete with the top players on this surface.

A losing record against top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts is one thing, but the numbers have taken a serious dent when Varvara Gracheva has had to face a top 20 Ranked opponent over the last twelve months. The serve becomes a vulnerability, while the 25 year old has really struggled to make enough impact on the return to put any significant scoreboard pressure on those opponents.

This has ultimately made it very difficult to remain competitive and the biggest shots in this match up should be from the Linda Noskova side of the court.

The spread is set in a slightly awkward line for someone with Noskova's inexperience to cover- in the last twelve months, Linda Noskova has had twelve hard court wins against players Ranked outside of the top 50 which have been in completed matches (one a mid-match retirement win) and she would have covered this line seven times.

There are times when a loss of concentration can see Noskova throw away games or sets, but the key here is serving well enough to just get through a couple of sticky moments. If she can get enough first serves in play, Linda Noskova should be able to keep Varvara Gracheva under the cosh and she has shown she can return well enough against those lower down the World Rankings to really get after the serve she will face in the Second Round.

Prediction

The younger player is the higher Ranked, but Linda Noskova will have to ride out some difficult moments before she can pull through with a win and a cover.

The Pick :

Linda Noskova 2-0 Varvara Gracheva

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Linda Noskova - 4.5 Games at 2.05 with Cloudbet