World number 18 Petra Martic of Croatia will kick-start her 2021 campaign with a second round match at the 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne against Vera Lapko on Monday, February 1. The match is likely to begin at around 2:30 pm local time (4 am BST or 11 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Petra Martic v Vera Lapko match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Petra Martic v Vera Lapko Head to Head
This will be the first time that Martic and Lapko will go head to head in a competitive encounter.
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Martic Begins New Season with Easy One
While Martic would have hoped for a better previous season, she would also be reasonably satisfied to have come away without losing too many ranking points thanks to the new WTA point system during the pandemic.
The Croat finished the season ranked 18th, just four below her career-best, despite possessing an underwhelming 14-11 win-loss record in 2020.
Having won a couple of WTA titles over the past couple of years, Martic looked to found her rhythm in Dubai last February where she reached the semifinal only for the season to be put on pause soon after because of the pandemic.
When tennis resumed in August, Martic made it to her second semifinal of the season, this time on the clay courts of Palermo and followed it up with a fourth round at the US Open. Unfortunately for Martic, it was the results in between those sparks of brilliance that might have been a cause for concern as she crashed out in the second round in Prague, opening match at Rome and then again in the first round in Ostrava.
Can Martic, who had a first round bye here in Melbourne, show more consistency this season.
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Lapko Looking for Turnaround in Fortunes
Over the course of the past two seasons, Lapko has played in only 26 matches across different circuits, and won only eight of those. In 2019 especially, Lapko struggled to get going, winning just one of her eight matches on hard and indoor hard court surfaces.
Last year, Lapko featured in only two tournaments before the pandemic broke out and one after. Her only main draw win came at the first round of the US Open while she had earlier featured in an ITF competition in Macon where she made the semifinal as well.
A former world number 60, Lapko has shown that when fit, she has the pedigree and grit to overcome tennis peers, which is also why she had gone into her opening round here against Yaroslava Shvedova as a clear favourite.
She was stretched to a third set in her opener, but a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win in her first match of the year after the kind of seasons Lapko has had to endure before this would go a long way in helping her look at the future instead of brooding over the past.
Martic v Lapko Prediction and Tip
Martic is 1/4 to win this and while she would be a favourite to claim it in straight sets, the Croat is also playing her first match. Rustiness is a factor and we could see bit of a fight here.
Tip: Over 19.5 games in the match: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic will be played from January 31. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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