Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, the world 132, will play Su-Wei Hseih of Taiwan, ranked 68, in the opening round of the 2021 Australian Open on Monday, February 8, with the match likely to begin at around 1 pm local time. Get the live streaming options of this Tsvetana Pironkova v Su-Wei Hseih match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Tsvetana Pironkova v Su-Wei Hseih Head to Head
The pair have never met before. This will be the first match between the 33-year-old Bulgarian, and the Taiwanese, who is two years older.
Pironkova, 2020 Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year
Pironkova is best known as a grass court player, but enjoys quick, fast surfaces, and won her only WTA title on Australian soil in Sydney in 2014. A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2010, and a quarter-finalist there the following year, it was against all expectations when she went on to make the last eight in Paris in 2016.
Success in Melbourne has so far eluded her though – she has never been beyond the second round here.
She returned to the game in 2020 having taken a three-year career break in order to have a baby. Using her protected ranking she entered the US Open where she beaten Garbine Muguruza and Donna Vekic, before eventually losing to Serena Williams in the quarter-final.
That comeback performance saw her named Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year. Nevertheless, she still had to qualify for this year’s event, which she did by winning her three matches in the Middle East.
In the Yarra Valley Classic, she beat Ludmilla Samsonova and Vekic again, before Williams ended her run once more.
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Hseih, Number One Doubles’ Player
Hseih is the current number one ranked doubles player, and has won 28 career titles, including three Grand Slams – the French Open in 2014, and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2019. With her regular partner, Barbora Strycova, she was a beaten finalist in Melbourne last year.
She has less history of success in singles but she has been in three finals and won all of them – in 2012 in Malaysia and Guangzhou, and in 2018 in Japan.
All of those finals were on hard courts like Melbourne.
Her best run at the Australian Open came three years ago where she reached the fourth round before losing to Angelique Kerber.
2020 was not a good year for her on the singles court – the only time she got beyond the first round of any event was at the French Open where she lost to the eventual winner Iga Swiatek. She got to the second round in Abu Dhabi but was heavily beaten by the Belgian Alison van Uytvanck last week in the Yarra Valley Classic, winning just two games.
Pironkova v Hseih Prediction and Tip
Pironkova, the US Open quarter-finalist, will begin as clear favourite to beat an opponent who, these days, devotes her main attention to the doubles’ events where she excels.
Tip: Pironkova to win in straight sets: 8/13 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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