Stephens vs Kasatkina: prediction for the Billie Jean King Cup match
On November 5, Sloane Stephens and Daria Kasatkina will face each other in the second rubber of the Billie Jean King Cup semi-final clash between national teams of USA and Russia.

Command Analysis

Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens is out of Top-10 in the world rankings and she is not even close to coming back any time soon, she is currently only at the 63th position. Before the matches for the national team American team had a month without any match practice. Her most recent tournament was Indian Wells, in which she was eliminated by fellow American player, Jessica Pegula (2:6, 3:6).
Stephens played only one match at Prague so far, in which she beat the Spanish player, Parrizas Dias (6:4, 6:4). It was a very contested match, so Stephens wasted much energy. We should note that Stephens lost her serve five times.

Daria Kasatkina

Daria Kasatkina put up a disappointing performance at the Kremlin Cup, losing the first match to Anhelina Kalinina (2:6, 3:6). There were concerns about Kasatkina's performance at Prague, but she able to help her team in the tie against Canada.
Russian player had a relatively easy opponent. Canadian player Zhao is just not good enough to compete against Kasatkina. Russian player was looking much better on the baseline and Zhao was unable to endure the long plays, so Kasatkina recorded a predictable victory (6:1, 6:2).
Trends
СтавкаSets performance: 1>2
This bet played in three out of five most recent matches of Stephens

Ставка1st set: total under 9.5
In three out of four head-to-head matches opponents played no more than nine games in the first set

Tip and bets
In head-to-head matches Stephens is 3:1 ahead of Kasatkina. But American player recorded all of her victories on clay, one of them - at Parma tournament in the current season. Today, in Prague match, Russian player will have a chance to narrow the gap in head-to-head matches. Stephens was not looking convincing in her first match at Prague, so she is unlikely to endure numerous long plays in the match against Kasatkina.
Our prediction - Kasatkina to win
The most recent head-to-head match between the opponents ended in three sets. We can't say that both opponents are looking consistent at the serve, so we are expecting a long match.
Our second bet is on total over 20.5 games