Sixth seeded Elena Rybakina will take on China’s Xiyu Wang in the second round of the 2021 WTA Abu Dhabi on Friday, January 8, with the match likely to begin at around 2:30 pm local time (8:30 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Elena Rybakina v Xiyu Wang match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elena Rybakina v Xiyu Wang Head to Head
There have been no previous meetings between Rybakina and Wang before this.
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Rybakina Strolls Through Opener
In a match that didn’t even last an hour, Rybakina barely broke into a sweat as she steamrolled Lucrezia Stefanini in the opening round of the tournament. Rybakina won 6-1, 6-3 to march into the second round where she will play an opponent who has never been ranked in the top 100.
As was expected out of Rybakina, she stormed through the first set of the match, breaking Stefanini twice before she had even won a game. While her Italian opponent finally opened her account while trailing 0-5, Rybakina quickly wrapped up the set the very game.
The second set was slightly tougher for the Kazakh despite getting an early break when Stefanini broke back to make it 3-3. However, two more breaks of serve for Rybakina later, she had completed the facile win, thereby continuing her form from the previous season.
While Rybakina did not have the best finish to the previous season as she went down in the second round at the French Open and opener in Ostrava, she had done rather well before that in winning her second WTA title and reaching four other finals all season.
Rybakina still has some way to go before she starts challenging opponents in the second week of Grand Slams but a couple of solid title wins in tournaments like this one in Abu Dhabi could do her confidence a world of good.
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Wang Runs Past Rus
Ranked 123rd in the world with a career-best of 106th, Wang Xiyu was the second favourite going into her opening round match against Arantxa Rus. Xiyu was 17/10 to win it and that she managed to overcome Rus bears testimony to her fighting skills.
The Chinese 19-year-old came through in three sets, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, needing two hours and 18 minutes in a hard-fought but deeply satisfying win.
This comes on the back of a year which had been difficult for most players across the globe but more so for the Chinese who barely played any tournaments after the pandemic break. Xiyu featured in six tournaments before March last year, and only managed to return to the circuit late in December with an appearance at the Dubai ITF tournament.
Interestingly, there she lost her second round match to Rus, before extracting sweet revenge in this tournament in Abu Dhabi. Things might not get any easier against Rybakina but a rusty Xiyu showed her mettle in her opening win alright.
Rybakina v Wang Prediction and Tip
A straightforward win looks likely with Rybakina at 3/25 to make it to the third round while Xiyu is 5/1 to cause a surprise. We are looking at another straight-set win for Rybakina but one in which Xiyu puts up a fight in one of the two sets.
Tip: Rybakina to win in straight sets: 1/3 (bet365)
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The 2020 Abu Dhabi Open will be played from January 6 to 13. You can watch & bet on the Abu Dhabi Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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