The women’s quarter-finals begin this Tuesday at Wimbledon, with two fascinating encounters being played. One of these is between the unlikely fairytale story of Lulu Sun, and Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Having never won a Grand Slam match prior to the tournament, New Zealand’s Sun now finds herself in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. Can she continue her giant-slaying ways and take down two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Vekic? Or is this where her run ends?
We break down everything there is to know about this clash, outlining the best betting opportunities and ultimately giving our Sun vs Vekic prediction.
Sun vs Vekic Odds
Before diving into our analysis, here are the latest Sun vs Vekic odds from tennis bookmakers:
- Lulu Sun @ 3.30 | +230
- Donna Vekic @ 1.33 | -300
World No 37 Vekic is heavily favored in this match up. The Croatian leads the betting at 1.33 (-300) to win outright, well ahead of Sun’s odds of 3.30 (+230). Vekic is given a -4.5 game handicap, returning 2.00 (+100), while Sun is at 1.73 (-138) to cover the spread.
Set betting expects that this will end in straight sets at the hands of Vekic. This result pays just 2.00 (1/1), while a three-set victory for Vekic is at 3.70 (+270). The total games market is set at 20.5, with the over market paying 1.80 (-125) and the under at 1.91 (-110).
Sun vs Vekic Preview
Lulu Sun
It’s not an understatement to say no one expected Lulu Sun to be around midway through the second week of Wimbledon. The Kiwi only made her Grand Slam debut earlier this year, where she took an early loss in the opening round of the Australian Open.
Ranked No 123 in the world, didn’t even have a particularly strong lead in to the grass season. She only played two events, losing in the final round of qualifying in s-Hertogenbosch and in the first round of the WTA 125 in Gaiba.
But two weeks ago, she clawed her way through Wimbledon qualifying, rectifying the heartbreak of last year when she lost in the final round of qualifying. In only her second main draw match at a Grand Slam, the Kiwi faced No 8 seed Qinwen Zheng, and caused a stunning upset, ousting the Chinese player in three sets.
Sun wasn’t done there, however. Over the last 10 days, she’s extended her winning streak at Wimbledon to eight matches in a row–more than enough to win a Grand Slam usually. Most recently, she’s defeated Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva (three sets), Lin Zhu (two sets) and British hope Emma Raducanu (three sets).
Donna Vekic
Vekic has had a very different season to Sun. Ahead of Wimbledon, she’d played herself into some fine form on grass, and has simply continued that over the past 10 days in London.
The Croatian had played nine matches on grass prior to Wimbledon, taking second-round losses in s-Hertogenbosch and Berlin, before making a run to the final of Bad Homburg. While she eventually lost to Diana Shnaider in three sets, the world No 37 was impressive en route to the final, beating the likes of sixth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the final.
Here at Wimbledon, Vekic has strung together four handy wins to make the quarter-finals. First she outlasted Xiyua Wang in three sets, before seeing off the older Andreeva, Erika, in straight sets. In her last two matches, she’s gone the distance against No 28 seed Dayana Yastremska and Paula Badosa.
Sun vs Vekic Prediction
This is an incredibly tough match to call. On the one hand, Vekic should win. She’s by far the higher ranked player, with the more complete, tested game. Plus, she has experience at this level having played in two previous Grand Slam quarter-finals.
On the other, Sun is playing an attractive brand of tennis that is really working for her in London. She’s proven time and time again that she isn’t daunted by the occasion, and will play ultra-aggressive attacking tennis to take the racquet out of her opponent’s hand.
For us, betting on this match simply comes down to which player offers the best returns. If Sun can play the way she did against Raducanu, she’ll win; but that “if” feels like something of a coin toss. However, the fact that she pays 3.30 (+230) for victory, compared to 1.33 (-300) is the deciding factor.
Backing Sun is a much more lucrative option in what feels like a 50/50 match.
Prediction: Sun to win in three.
