19th seed Donna Vekic will face 2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova in the first round of the 2020 Australian Open on Tuesday, January 21. The match begins at around 1 pm local time (2 am BST). You can find the Kiki Bertens v Irina-Camelia Begu live streaming options along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Donna Vekic v Maria Sharapova Head to Head
The more experienced Sharapova won their only meeting, in straight sets, at the 2018 French Open.
Vekic Looking To Break The Second Round Jinx in Melbourne
Donna Vekic broke into the top 50 in 2018 and showed steady improvement in 2019. There weren’t any earth-shattering performances to note last year, but the 23-year-old quietly climbed up the rankings thanks to a number of firsts in her career, none of them bigger than her appearance in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open – her best-ever showing at a Grand Slam tournament. She also reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time.
Two of her other major accomplishments included her first visit to a Premier level final, at St Petersburg Open, which she lost to Kiki Bertens; and a runner-up finish at the Nottingham Open. In St Petersburg, she also got her best-win-by-ranking when she beat No. 2 Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals.
The season, however, didn’t end on a high for her and she carried that form to 2020 losing to Yulia Putintseva in the first round in Brisbane. But she found some winning touch just before the Australian Open, beating Anastasija Sevastova and Maria Sakkari in Adelaide, both in tough three-setters, before falling to Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals.
In Melbourne, she has never ventured past the second round and would be desperate to break the jinx this time around. However, she has been handed a very tricky first round draw against the mightily experienced Maria Sharapova, who has been given a wildcard for the tournament.
Sharapova Looking To Regain Form
Former World No. 1 Sharapova will be making her 16th appearance at the Australian Open this year. It is an event that has often brought the best out of her; and a title and three runners-up finishes along with three semifinal appearances are a testament to that.
Ever since her return to tennis following the ban in 2016 due to a failed drug test, Sharapova has played two Australian Opens, reaching the third round in 2018 and the fourth round last year. Can she make a deeper run this year? Given her struggles with injuries and form that saw her slide way below the top 100 in the ranking in 2019, it seems too big an ask. However, one cannot underestimate the strength of the five-time Grand Slam champion, who made a decent comeback in 2018 reaching the quarterfinal of the French Open and breaking into the top 30.
Ever since her defeat to Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round at Melbourne Park last year, Sharapova has played just nine completed matches and has a rather woeful 3-6 win-loss record. Given her popularity, there will be a lot of support for the Russian. However, it will be interesting to see if the 32-year-old can use that to her advantage and get off to a good start.
Donna Vekic v Maria Sharapova Predictions & Tips
A matchup between World No. 20 and World No. 145 may seem like a lopsided affair. However, the contest will be anything but that. Expect this to be a cracking contest with Vekic winning in three.
Tip: Vekic to win in three sets: 3/1 (Click here to get these odds with Unibet)
You can watch & bet on Bertens v Begu on Tuesday, January 21 here. . Get the latest tennis predictions and tips here.
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