Danka Kovinic and Viktorija Golubic will take on each other in the first round of the 2023 WTA Lyon Open on January 31.
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Having high expectations for the Australian Open was Danka Kovinic. With semifinal finishes in Parma, 125K Colina, and a final in 125K Buenos Aires (all on clay) to close out the previous year and an Auckland semifinal to begin the new one, she arrived in Melbourne having won at least three matches in each of her previous four tournaments. Though she had a set and a break advantage, she was defeated by Lauren Davis in the opening round of the Australian Open, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Regardless, it was a successful trip down under that helps her get closer to making her top 50 debut given that she began January without consecutive wins outside clay courts since March.
After playing Sorana Cirstea in Adelaide, Kateryna Baindl in Hobart, and Petra Martic in Melbourne, Viktorija Golubic is on a three-match losing streak. After finishing 2022 with victories over Bianca Andreescu and Karolina Muchuova in the BJK Cup and an indoor hard-court final in Rouen, France, it was not the start she had hoped for. The Swiss athlete will soon enter Lyon for the third time. In 2021, she reached the championship round as a qualifier, ending her WTA finals drought that had lasted since October 2016 and losing to Clara Tauson in the process. She advanced to the second round in 2022 before falling to Vitalia Diatchenko in a three-hour match, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
| Danka Kovinic vs Viktorija Golubic | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | January 31, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Lyon Open |
| Stage | Round of 32 |
| Time (India) | TBD |
| Time (Australia) | TBD |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Lauren Davis | 6-1, 5-7, 1-6 (L) |
| Coco Gauff | 6-0, 6-2 (L) |
| Viktoria Kuzmova | 6-3, 6-2 (W) |
| Lauren Davis | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 (W) |
| Nao Hibino | 6-1, 6-4 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Petra Martic | 6-3, 6-4 (L) |
| Kateryna Baindl | 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 (L) |
| Sorana Cirstea | 6-0, 7-6 (L) |
| Storm Sanders | 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 (W) |
| Alison Riske | 6-2, 6-4 (W) |
1-0 is the score in favour of Danka Kovinic. In 2018, they faced off in the opening round of the clay-court tournament in Lugano, Switzerland, and both were outside the top 100. In two and a half hours, the Montenegrin prevailed 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. Her chances of avoiding a repeat of her 2022 Lyon first-round loss to Arantxa Rus are slim.
| Tournment | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Lyon Open | Danka Kovinic | 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 |
Danka Kovinic and Viktorija Golubic will take on each other in the first round of the 2023 WTA Lyon Open on January 31.
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