World number 11 Serena Williams will take on Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in the third round of the 2021 WTA Yarra Valley Classic with the match to be played on Wednesday, February 3. The matches start time is expected to be around 2:30 pm local time (4 am BST). Get the live streaming options of this Serena Williams v Tsvetana Pironkova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Serena Williams v Tsvetana Pironkova Head to Head
There have been five previous encounters between these two and a sixth which didn’t happen because of a Serena Williams pre-match withdrawal. Williams has won all the remainin five matches against Pironkova including the US Open quarterfinal last season at which Williams dropped the first set before rallying and winning in three.
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Serena Demolishes Gavrilova
A much leaner Serena Williams wasted no time in crushing the hopes of Daria Gavrilova in her first round match here in Melbourne, winning 6-1, 6-4. The match lasted little over an hour and a half and while Gavrilova fought better in the second set after a lacklustre first, she was never in contention to trouble Serena.
Serena started off slowly, and by started off we are referring to just the first game of the opening set. Her Aussie opponent had multiple break-points in that game only for Serena to hold on to her serve.
The 23-time major winner then served better in her second service game and by the time it was the fourth game of the match, Serena had broken her opponent. Another break followed in the sixth and the American served it out to clinch the set next game.
The second set was more keenly fought with Serena getting just one break of serve in the fifth game. She held on to that with Gavrilova never coming close to breaking her as Serena ran away with the match and a place in the third round.
Earlier, Serena had begun her season with an exhibition match against Naomi Osaka in Adelaide, winning it in three sets as well.
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Pironkova Pulls Past Vekic
It speaks wonders about how Pironkova has gone about her tennis since her return to the sport last season that despite being ranked 137th in the world to her opponent’s 32nd, she went into her second round match at winning odds of 2/5. Some of it was probably attributable to Donna Vekic’s form too but when the Croat ran off with the first set, winning it 6-1, the tide seemed to be turning.
Soon after Vekic was up a break in the second set, leading 2-0. Pironkova, however, has shown ever since she returned last September, a willingness to fight and she gave another example of that by immediately breaking back and then doubling that at a crucial time in the second set – at 4-4.
The Bulgarian served out the set after that, broke a now deflated Vekic twice more in the third set and completed a three-set win.
This followed a straight-set win over Ludmilla Samsonova in the first round of this competition and she now faces an opponent she had lost to at the US Open and then got a walkover from at the French Open last year.
Serena v Pironkova Prediction and Tip
It’s no surprise that Serena is a heavy favourite here starting at 2/7 but as mentioned earlier, Pironkova’s ability to push her opponents means we could see an interesting encounter that might even last the distance.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 5/6 (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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