Romania’s Sorana Cirstea will play world no.99 from the United States Ann Li in the quarterfinal of the Grampians Trophy in Melbourne on Saturday, February 6. The match will be scheduled soon. Get the live streaming options of this Sorana Cirstea v Ann Li match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sorana Cirstea v Ann Li Head to Head
These two players have never met before this.
Also Read:
Cirstea Piles More Misery On Bencic
Soran Cirstea was slated to play Karolina Pliskova in Abu Dhabi last month, but had to withdraw due to an abdominal injury. She has since recovered, and picked up two match wins at the Grampians Trophy and punched her ticket into the quarterfinals of a WTA tour-level event for the first time since 2019.
Cirstea was largely untroubled against Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova in her opening match, losing just two games in a 48-minuted whitewash. A meeting against the world no.11 and the second seed this week was expected to be eventful.
Instead, it was the Romanian who came out on top in 7-5 6-2 win. Bencic’s confidence is shattered right now. She hasn’t won a match since February 2020. There is no cohesion and coordination in her game right now and Cirstea sensed blood.
Bencic hit six double faults and landed less than 50% of first serve points in the first set. The world no.72 earned the break she needed at the tail end of the first set. The paradigm continued to the second set where Bencic’s struggles were now eliciting the very best tennis of Cirstea.
The 30-year-old raced into a 4-0 lead and she never looked back. Cirstea is now on a seven-match winning streak stretching from last year’s success at the Dubai ITF.
Li Pulled Off Her Very Own Upset
The upsets in Melbourne have opened the door wide open for these relatively fresh young players to stake their claim in a WTA 500 tournament.
Ann Li was the latest to embolden that trend as she beat Abu Dhabi runner-up Veronika Kudermetova 7-5 6-3 to reach her first WTA quarterfinal of her career. She had a generous passage into the round of 16 after her opponent Ellen Perez was forced to retire midway through the first set due to a stiff back.
Li then patiently wore down Kudermetova who had a rare off-day on her big serve. She has good memories from her previous year’s trip to Melbourne. As a former Wimbledon junior finalist, she made her Grand Slam main draw debut on the senior tour at last year’s Australian Open. She won her first Grand Slam match against Lizette Cabrera before falling to eventual winner Sofia Kenin.
She continued to break new ground last year, winning a third ITF title and reaching the third round of the US Open.
Cirstea v Li Prediction and Tip
Both players are on a roll. They both won an ITF title at the end of 2020 and each of them is looking to take advantage of this unpredictable Australian summer for a breakthrough. Expect this contest to go right down to the wire.
Tip: Li to win in third set: 4/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Grampians Trophy in Melbourne will be played from February 3. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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