In a battle of similarly-ranked players, the world number 80 Venus Williams will be up against 74th-ranked Arantxa Rus in the first round of the 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic on Sunday, January 31. The match is likely to begin at around 2:30 pm local time (8:30 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Venus Williams v Arantxa Rus match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Venus Williams v Arantxa Rus Head to Head
In their only previous match that came in the 2018 Fed Cup, Venus was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Rus.
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Venus Coming off a Career-Worst
It was a heavily-curtailed season alright but Venus Williams endured one of the worst on court as she crashed to eight defeats to go with her sole victory all of 2020.
Yes, that’s correct. The multiple-time Grand Slam winner Venus won just one match – in the first round of the Lexington Open when she defeated Victoria Azarenka – while going down seven times in first round of tournaments.
This included first round exits at all the three Grand Slam tournaments she participated in, and rather interestingly, her best performance in those defeats coming against sister Serena in Lexington where Venus won the first set and was up a break in the second.
What Venus would want is for her to return to the kind of form on display in the two matches she played in that tournament – in the first round she had earlier overcome Azarenka before getting edged out in the second by her sister.
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Rus Shocked in Abu Dhabi
Having begun her season earlier this month at the WTA Abu Dhabi, Rus was a favourite going into her first round match against Chinese teenager Xiyu Wang but failed to live up to that. The Dutchwoman fell away to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 defeat to Wang, showing signs of early season rustiness.
This follows a season in which Rus began well in the first quarter, having reached the final of an ITF event, a semifinal of another competition on the same circuit and then making it to the semifinal of the Monterrey Open where Rus then finally lost to Elina Svitolina.
That, however, was followed by a fairly ordinary return to tennis following the pandemic break as she fell to a 4-8 win-loss main draw record between August and the end of the season. A quarterfinal at the Dubai ITF tournament salvaged bit at the end but this early loss in Abu Dhabi suggests Rus could be in a bit of a rut here.
Can she turn things around against an opponent who is way more experienced but herself struggling to notch up wins?
Venus v Rus Prediction and Tip
This could go on to become another interesting encounter with Venus Williams in for bit of a fight from Rus. A three-setter can be expected here, with Venus edging out her opponent.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic will be played from January 31. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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