World No. 6 Petra Kvitova will face the rising American star Danielle Collins in the semifinal of the Australian Open 2019 on Thursday.
Watch & bet on Petra Kvitova v Danielle Collins live with bet365 here* on Thursday, January 24. The Kvitova v Collins match will not be played before 2 pm local time (4 am BST).
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Kvitova’s First Major Semifinal Since 2014
Kvitova is presently enjoying a spell in her career that she last had in the first half of this decade. After returning from the knife attack in 2017, she struggled greatly with her form and was out of the top 20.
However, in 2018, she won five singles title that helped her get back into the top 5, a couple of which were the Birmingham Classic and Madrid Open. Now, following her superb run in Melbourne, she is just a few wins away from becoming the World No. 1.
It has been a long journey for the Czech to reach the top, one that has been highly inspiring and invigorating. Just before coming for the Aus Open, she played in Sydney where she won the Premier-level event. As for her at the Melbourne Park, she has won all of her preceding matches so far, without dropping even a single set.
In fact, Kvitova is the only player in the semifinal who hasn’t lost a set throughout the tournament. Most recently, she edged past the local favourite Ashleigh Barty 6-1, 6-4, in a show of sheer dominance and strength. The Czech continued to woo the crowd with quality shots throughout the match.
Collins’ First Appearance in the Australian Open
Danielle Collins is playing in the Australian Open for the first time in her career. Last year, she failed to move past the qualifying rounds but this time around, she has made it to the semifinal. Co-incidentally, that result is also the best one that the 25-year-old has been able to produce so far in her career.
She has delivered some stunning upsets, starting with the 14th seed Julia Goerges, 19th seed Caroline Garcia, World No. 2 Angelique Kerber, and most recently, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Interestingly, she was ranked the World No. 162 exactly a year ago. In that one year period, she has managed to break into the top 40 after consistent performances in 2018. She reached the semifinal at the Miami Masters and WTA San Jose, and the quarterfinal at the WTA Monterrey.
Collins is a player who isn’t afraid to be bold and make her presence known. She is highly expressive and doesn’t shy away from celebrating loudly when she wins a point. The only reason why is achieving success relatively late is that she chose to focus on her education in the early years.
Kvitova v Collins – Head to Head
Kvitova and Collins have met only once. That encounter took place in the second round of the WTA Brisbane, where Kvitova won in three sets.
Kvitova v Collins – Who Will Win?
Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion who is known to keep her calm. She is far more experienced than Collins and is coming in with an incredible amount of momentum. As for Collins, she has had an excellent run so far and if she wants to go further, she will have to avoid making errors and respond to Kvitova’s game with patience and dexterity.
Collins was able to stretch Kvitova to a three-setter earlier this year and she will definitely fancy her chances here. All in all, this will be an exciting match to watch – one where the Czech will start as the favourite.
You can Watch & bet on Petra Kvitova v Danielle Collins live with bet365 here on Thursday, January 24.
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