WTA Dubai 2023: Collins vs Fruhvirtova Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships as Danielle Collins takes on Linda Fruhvirtova in the first round on Sunday, February 19, 2023.

Danielle Collins will look for a reaction following last week’s catastrophic loss to Iga Swiatek in Doha. Can the American bounce back at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships when she locks horns against Czech prodigy Linda Fruhvirtova?

Danielle Collins lost 6-0 6-1 to Iga Swiatek in the second round of Doha, a defeat so bad it took an less than hour to complete. It was quite shocking, nothing seemed to work for Collins in the match. She was one of nine players to defeat the Pole in 2022, and their encounter in Doha presented some sort of intrigue to it. Collins’ performance in that first set made for grim reading. She tallied zero winners to 13 unforced errors and won a mere four points. She will definitely need a reaction at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships but could have her hands full against the Czech teenage sensation Linda Fruhvirtova.

Linda Fruhvirtova, for her part, is playing for the first time since a second-round defeat in Hua Hin to Tamara Zidansek at the start of February. Fruhvirtova is coming off a breakthrough run at the Australian Open where she reached the fourth round of a slam for the first time. The young Czech has been awarded a wild card at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships where she will make her main draw debut on Sunday when she faces Danielle Collins.

Danielle Collins and Linda Fruhvirtova have not played each other on the WTA Tour. Sunday’s first-round match at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships will be their first official meeting. Sometimes a heavy defeat like the one Collins suffered last week could be the start of a gloomy period of little success. But the American is experienced enough to shake off that loss and shouldn’t be too fussed about it given how Swiatek dominated the rest of the field in Doha. Fruhvirtova hasn’t played in a couple of weeks, so it might be a good time for Collins to play the young Czech as she tries to adjust to the conditions in the Arab peninsula.