Australia and Belarus will continue their bid to reach the final of the 2019 Fed Cup, with Ashleigh Barty set to face Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday. The match will take place on April 20 at 1:00 pm local time (4:00 am BST the previous day). Get Aryna Sabalenka v Ashleigh Barty live streaming options here.
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Aryna Sabalenka v Ashleigh Barty Head to Head
Sabalenka and Barty have crossed paths thrice on the tour and the Belarusian currently leads Barty with a slim 2-1 lead. All of those three meetings took place in 2018, with their most recent encounter taking place in the WTA Zhuhai. Sabalenka won that match in straight sets.
An Exciting Day One for the Fans!
Day one action began with Sabalenka going head to head with the veteran Aussie Samantha Stosur. The match lasted for two hours and 49 minutes and ultimately saw the World No. 10 clinch the victory with 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
In this marathon encounter, Sabalenka doled out 8 aces and 45 winners to give Belarus an early 1-0 lead in the fixture.
After this scintillating fixture, Ashleigh Barty defeated Victoria Azarenka in straight sets to pull Australia back into the competition. In just an hour and 39 minutes, Barty delivered right when it needed the most. She performed superbly under pressure and kept Azarenka at bay by saving eight break points and dishing out 20 winners.
With the draw tied at 1-1, it all comes down to the two top 10 players.
Sabalenka and Barty – Two Evenly Matched Players
The two players are similar in many ways – both of them have had a pretty stellar year so far, are fairly young on the tour and most importantly, have achieved a great deal in recent times.
Sabalenka won the Shenzhen Open earlier this year and later, was a semifinalist in the St. Petersburg Open. However, her form took a slight drop after that as she lost in the early rounds in Indian Wells, Miami, and most recently, Charleston.
As for Barty, she was the runner-up in the Sydney International, a quarterfinalist in the Australian Open and most impressively, the winner of the Miami Open 2019. She won the biggest tournament of her career after defeating many prominent players like Kiki Bertens, Petra Kvitova, and Karolina Pliskova.
By the looks of it, Barty has been in a far superior form than Sabalenka of late although, as history has proven numerous occasions, no one is invincible. The Aussie’s kryptonite this season has been top 10 players and Sabalenka, being one herself, can very well put up a good fight here.
Meanwhile, while Sabalenka has had her moments, she hasn’t been that sharp – her defeats to the likes of Monica Puig, Belinda Bencic, and Ajla Tomljanovic prove just that.
Sabalenka v Barty Tips and Predictions
Belarus is competing to reach their first Fed Cup final since the 2017 edition. And by the looks of it, the task now has fallen on the able shoulders of Sabalenka, who has proved to be a valuable addition to the team. Meanwhile, the Australians too are looking to win their first Fed Cup trophy since 1974.
With Barty on their side and more importantly, given the sensational form she is in, she can very well take the team forward. However, her task will not be an easy one, especially with so much on the line for the two players. Sabalenka will have the edge here owing to her lead in the head to head tally. But, Barty’s recent momentum will negate that.
Tip: Under 20.5 games in the match: 10/13 (888Sport)
You can watch & bet on Aryna Sabalenka v Ash Barty on Sunday, April 21 af_link id=”3509″ rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank”]here.[/af_link] Also, get your other daily dose of tennis tips and predictions here.
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