Some of the first round action at the 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Open will see Vera Lapko facing Jacqueline Cristian, Viktoriya Tomova taking on Xinyu Wang and Daria Mishina up against Kamilla Rakhimova in opening round matches on Tuesday, March 16. Get the live streaming options along the predictions, preview and head to head for all these matches.
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Vera Lapko v Jacqueline Cristian Preview
In what will be the first meeting between the 281st-ranked Lapko and the 160th ranked Cristian, the duo will face off in the first round of this competition in St. Petersburg.
While Lapko was once ranked 60th in the world, her fitness concerns and lack of matches as a result over the past two years have pushed her out of the top 250. Even this year, Lapko has played in only three main draw matches and won just one and lost the rest.
On the other hand, the 22-year-old Cristian is slowly growing into the tour, and will be playing her first WTA main draw match this season having gotten through the qualifiers. Earlier she had also finished runner-up at the Andrezieux-Boutheon ITF competition, and with the kind of momentum and form she has, should start off as a favourite here.
Lapko v Cristian Tip
Cristian to win: 8/13 (bet365)
Viktoriya Tomova v Xinyu Wang Preview
The 142nd-ranked Tomova and Wang, who is ranked 159th in the world, will go toe to toe in the first round of their encounter here and this will be the second meeting between the pair. The first time they played was in the qualifiers of the Budapest Open in 2019, and Tomova had cruised past Wang, dropping just three games.
Both players are yet to win a main draw match this season on the WTA circuit, which will make this an interesting encounter given what’s at stake.
Why it is tough to separate Tomova and Wang is both have similar records on hard court surfaces, which is why Tomova’s 6/5 to win this sounds tempting for us to with.
Tomova v Wang Tip
Tomova to win: 6/5 (bet365)
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Daria Mishina v Kamilla Rakhimova Preview
Russians Rakhimova and Mishina have faced off twice before this on the ITF circuit and have shared the spoils with one win apiece. However, Rakhimova, all of 19 years of age, is currently ranked 150th in the world, which is her career-best while the 27-year-old Mishina has never seen the inside of the top 300 in her career.
Mishina has had a decent start to the season though, having reached the quarterfinal and semifinal of successive ITF competitions. On the other hand, Rakhimova has been attempting to qualify for WTA main draw events, having forced her way into the Yarra Valley Classic and then qualified for the Phillip Island Trophy.
This will be Rakhimova’s third WTA tournament main draw match of the season, having gotten here with wins over Alexandra Krunic and Magdalena Fech in the qualifiers.
Mishina v Rakhimova Tip
Games Handicap Rakhimova -5.5: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Open will be played from March 15 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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