Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the world number 45, will play Danka Kovinic of Montenegro currently ranked 77th in their 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy second round match on Monday, February 1, with the match likely to begin at around 2.30 pm local time (5.30 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Jelena Ostapenko v Danka Kovinic match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Jelena Ostapenko v Danka Kovinic Head to Head
The pair have met twice before and Ostapenko has won on each occasion. Their first meeting was at the Mexican Open in 2017, where the Latvian won in straight sets. They met again a few weeks layer in Indian Wells, where this time Kovinic did at least claim a set off her opponent.
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Ostapenko Looking to Rediscover Her Form
The winner of the French Open in 2017, Ostapenko has struggled to rediscover those heights since, and several years of indifferent performances have seen her world ranking drift. She will be hoping to rediscover some form in 2021.
She was given, what seemed on paper at least, a relatively easy draw against Sara Errani of Italy in the first round, but made very heavy weather against the world 131,
The pattern was set in the opening two games with both women dropping their serve. Ostapenko forced another break, but immediately surrendered it, and then lost her serve once more to give Errani the set.
The errors continued to pile up on both sides of the net in the second set, but this time it was Ostapenko who made the fewer, and she was able to level the match.
She finally gained some measure of control in the third set, and, as the Italian’s game deserted her, she was finally able to close out the match.
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Kovinic Beats Slovak to Advance
Primarily known for her exploits of the ITF tour, where she has won 12 tournaments, Kovinic has been in two WTA finals – in Tianjin in 2016 and in Istanbul the following year – losing them both.
At that time, she was ranked as high as 46 in the world, although she currently sits show 31 places lower.
Arguably her highlight in 2020 was reaching the second round of the US Open for the second time before losing to the Pole Magda Linette.
In the first round of this event, she played Tamara Zidansek of Slovakia, the world number 88.
The first set went with serve until Kovinic secured the only break in the sixth game, and she was able to consolidate her advantage to take the lead.
The second set was more erratic from both women. Zidansek saved two break points in her first service game only to be broken next time round. Then it was Kovaninic’s turn to drop her serve, only to break back again immediately,
The Slovak dropped her serve once more, but, with the finish line in sight, Kovinic promptly dropped hers again. However, after a marathon ninth game which saw Zidansek save three match points, she was powerless to stop the woman from Montenegro converting the fourth.
Ostapenko v Kovinic Prediction and Tip
Based on their world rankings and previous meetings, Ostapenko will start the favourite for this match. She will though need to play a lot better than she did in the first round if she is not to suffer an upset.
Tip: Ostapenko to win: 4/9 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne will be played from January 31. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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