Spain’s Aliona Bolsova will be up against Ankita Raina of India in the first round of the 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic with the match expected to be played on Sunday, January 31, with the match likely to begin at around 2:30 pm local time (8:30 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Ankita Raina v Aliona Bolsova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Ankita Raina v Aliona Bolsova Head to Head
Their only previous outing came at the 2020 Tyler ITF competition at which Bolsova, ranked 103rd in the world at the moment, overcame her Indian opponent 7-5, 6-2 in an opening round match.
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Raina Hoping to Claw Back to Her Best
After losing in the third round of the Australian Open qualifiers, Raina made it through to Australia as one of the potential lucky losers and as a result has qualified for this tournament. She is, however, coming off a lacklustre post-pandemic phase of 2020 and will be hoping to turn things around as a result.
Since coming back from the break in August last year, Raina’s only appearance in the second round of any tournament was at an ITF event in Prague and she crashed out in that encounter.
Failure to qualify in four of the next few competitions pushed her back further and even when she made an appearance in the opening rounds of the other tournament, a first round defeat followed every single time.
Now ranked 180th in the world, Raina would hope to carve out a few surprises in this tournament in the lead-up to the Australian Open to not just gain a few ranking points but also some confidence for the rest of the season.
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Bolsova Clawing Back to Top 100
A former world number 88 thanks to a fourth round appearance at the 2019 French Open, Bolsova will now look to inch back into the top 100 following a modest previous season.
Having failed to qualify for the Auckland Open and the Australian Open last year, she turned her attention towards the ITF circuit and carved out two very solid results leading up to the pandemic break – a semifinal and a final appearance in back to back Cairo-hosted competitions.
Following the resumption of tennis in August, Bolsova made it to the second round at the US Open and followed it up with a similar showing at the WTA Rome, before entering the quarterfinal at an ITF event in Tyler – the same one where she beat Raina in the first round.
A potential second round meeting against Marie Bouzkova awaits Bolsova if she can play to her ranking in this one against a player ranked more than 70 places below her.
Raina v Bolsova Prediction and Tip
There is no doubt Bolsova’s better record – a career-best ranking of 88th to her opponent’s 160th – makes her a favourite here but Raina has a small advantage – she has played three matches already this season while Bolsova will only be just starting out. Expect Raina to trouble Bolsova for a bit.
Tip: Raina to win a set: 1/1 (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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