World No.49 Polona Hercog will play Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan in the first round of the 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy. The match is currently scheduled for Sunday, January 31, with an exact time yet to be announced. Get the live streaming options of this Polona Hercog v Margarita Gasparyan match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Polona Hercog v Margarita Gasparyan Head to Head
This will be the second meeting between the two players. Their only previous match came at the qualifying rounds of New Haven in 2018 which the Russian won in straight sets.
Also Read:
Hercog Came Close To Shock Sabalenka
If we ever needed a synopsis of Polona Hercog’s measures of inconsistencies, then look no further than her most recent loss at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Abu Dhabi Open.
Granted the Belarusian is in rich vein of form at the minute, it was a shocking collapse by the tattooed Slovenian who let slip a 5-2, 40-15 lead in the first set. And to add insult insult to injury Sabalenka would acknowlege in post match interview, ‘I did not have my serve, I didn’t have my backhand and forehand.’
So how on earth did Hercog fail to close out that opening set and potentially be on course to end Sabalenka’s amazing winning streak?
Character. That was exactly what Sabalenka had when her game was not firing on all cylinders, and she managed to turn around the deficit to win in 7-6 6-2. And it is exactly what Hercog will need to call upon when she trots down the Melbourne court on her first outing at the newly-established WTA Gippsland Trophy.
Hercog, the current world no.49 had a middling 2020. In an effort to address her poor run of results, she played in an ITF event in Dubai towards the end of last season. She reached the semifinals (her best run by far), beating the likes of Kuzmova and Arantxa Rus.
Can she carve out a winning strategy against Russia’s Gasparyan?
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Gasparyan Missed Out On Australian Open Main Draw
Margarita Gasparyan missed out on a spot in the Australian Open main draw after losing in the final round of qualifying to the comeback story of 2020, Tsvetana Pironkova. Having taken out Martina Di Giuseppe and Mariam Bolkvadze, she fell short in coverting her chances against the Bulgarian – winning two of eight break points in a 3-6 5-7 loss.
That defeat ended her pursuit of a third successive appearance in the main draw of the Australian Open. With a current ranking of no.125, the Russian one-hander has found few opportunities of making an imprint on the main tour.
In fact, her low ranking could not vault her name in the entry list of most WTA tour level tournaments. She won only two matches all year in 2020 as a result of drawing the top players in the first hurdle, compounded with lack of energy after investing it in the qualifiers.
However, she has a window of opportunity in this match against a player she has beaten before.
Hercog v Gasparyan Prediction and Tip
Gasparyan is able to force Hercog in uncomfortable positions and hit plenty of winners with her elegant one-hander. But Hercog is the better player in this encounter with a lot of variety and craftiness. I expect the Slovenian to bounce back in this one.
Tip: Hercog to win: 3/10 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne will be played from January 31. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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