TC Plus Match of the Day: Elina Svitolina vs. Maria Sakkari, San Jose

Maria Sakkari will look to avenge her recent Wimbledon third-round loss to Elina Svitolina in a matchup of two hard hitting, aggressive baseliners in San Jose. Sakkari had her chances in London, but eventually fell to the Ukrainian, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-2. Svitolina went on to reach her first major semifinal at the All-England Club.

(AP Images)

A finalist at the WTA Premier event a year ago, Sakkari will be looking forward to facing Svitolina on a hard court, where her massive forehand jumps high off the court and out of her opponent's strike zone. Sakkari, will need to pull Svitolina off the court and keep her on the move. Svitolina defends well, but is far more dangerous when controlling play from the middle of the court with her laser-like groundstrokes.

The top-seeded Svitolina is certainly the favorite, but given Sakkari’s past success in San Jose and her need to defend last year’s final points, expect the Greek to prevail in a tough three-set match on Friday.