World number five Elina Svitolina will hope to put behind her recent finishing issues when she takes on Marie Bouzkova in the opening round of the 2021 Australian Open on Monday, February 8, with the match likely to begin at around 10 am local time (11 pm BST or 6 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Elina Svitolina v Marie Bouzkova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elina Svitolina v Marie Bouzkova Head to Head
In the two previous matches between these players, each has one apiece. The first came in the Guangzhou Open of 2019 in which Bouzkova was up by a set before her opponent retired from the encounter. This was followed by Svitolina winning the 2020 Monterrey Open title by beating Bouzkova in the final in a tight three-setter.
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Back to Back Quarterfinal Exits for Svitolina
In both the tournaments Svitolina has played this season so far, she has been knocked out in the last-eight stage of the competitions.
First, at Abu Dhabi, Svitolina was solid in her wins over Jessica Pegula and Vera Zvonareva, two tough opponents that early in the tournament – and the season! Both were straight-set victories.
That was followed by Ekaterina Alexandrova pushing her a tad in the third round before she fell in the quarterfinals to Veronika Kudermetova. That was a close match too and Svitolina had multiple chances to finish it off but failed to win the third set tie-breaker.
Then at the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne, the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist won her first two rounds against Andrea Petkovic and Jelena Ostapenko only to fall to a three-set loss to Elise Mertens.
Typically Svitolina doesn’t quite too many problems in the early rounds of tournaments but two or three wins in, there are those jitters which make things difficult. An early round match against the 52nd-ranked Bouzkova could get tricky.
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Bouzkova Puts up a Fight against Barty
While she is ranked 52nd in the world, Bouzkova had a decent run to the third round of the Yarra Valley Classic Open in Melbourne earlier this week. First local Samantha Stosur was crushed for the loss of just two games and then in a second round match against Aliona Bolsova, Bouzkova was stretched into a third set but came through easily.
What would have impressed a lot of tennis fans is her performance against Ash Barty. The Aussie and world number one was 1/4 to win the match and when she ran away to a 6-0 scoreline in the first set of their meeting, it looked like the match was headed just one way.
Instead, Bouzkova fought back to scoop up the second set, rather stunningly and it was only when Barty finally dug in deeper that she was able to walk away a winner.
Bouzkova did begin well last season, having made it to the final of the Monterrey Open – her maiden and till date, only final – but her form did fall away after the pandemic break.
Svitolina v Bouzkova Prediction and Tip
It’s interesting to note that Svitolina, although a favourite at 4/9, isn’t that short as you would expect for a world number five playing an opening round match at a Grand Slam. Happy to take those odds.
Tip: Svitolina to win: 4/9 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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