Number 17 seed Elena Rybakina will hope to avoid another slow start when she plays France’s Fiona Ferro in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open on Wednesday, February 10. Timings of this match will be available upon the release of order of play. Get the live streaming options of this Elena Rybakina v Fiona Ferro match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elena Rybakina v Fiona Ferro Head to Head
Rybakina and Ferro have played twice previously, with both meetings coming in 2020. The tall Kazakh won their first match on the indoor hardcourt of St. Petersburg, before Ferro levelled the head-to-head with a three-set win at the French Open.
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Rybakina Overcomes Slow Start
In what was expected to be a stroll, turned into a complete slugfest. Elena Rybakina overcame a slow start and an inspired opponent to book her spot in the second round of the Australian Open for the second successive year.
But how did she do it? On the face of it, the first round of the Grand Slams are all about getting a result regardless of whether the performance was of merit. For the case of Rybakina, the six footer from Kazakhstan, won a tightly contested opening match against two-time Grand Slam finalist Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-4 6-4.
After making such a bright start to the match with a service break at 3-1, she would win only one more game in the set as Zvonareva came back soaring. The Russian was hitting the balls so deep to nullify the Kazakh’s power game. There were 46 unforced errors coming off the 17th seed’s racket – a ridiculous stat for a match that lasted two hours.
But Rybakina did manage to compose herself, and there were flashes of brilliance of just how much damage she can do with her all-round game. She crunched 40 winners, and broke the veteran Zvonareva five times. Overall she won 92 points as compared to her opponents 88, a further measure of just how the match could have easily swung the other way.
For now though she stays in the tournament and there is another trickier round to navigate from if she is to book a potential third round meeting against Iga Swiatek.
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Ferro Produces Her Own Comeback Win
Rybakina’s second round opponent Fiona Ferro also produced her own comeback win to advance. The Frenchwoman who recently signed up with sportswear company Lacoste beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-7 6-2 6-4 to reach the second round in Melbourne for the second year.
In a lackluster match littered with mistakes from both players, it was Ferro who took advantage of the fast courts to generate a greater degree of consistency in her groundstrokes. Ferro generated 16 break points, and converting seven. She also looked in command when coming to the net to finish off points (won 71% of net points).
Siniakova’s downfall was overhitting. Granted there were six aces up her sleeve, she also hit eight double faults. It almost felt she was going for a first serve, even on a second serve. A total of 71 unforced errors could not help the curly-haired Czech’s cause, and Ferro asserted her dominance in the second and third sets, despite playing in first gear.
Rybakina v Ferro Prediction and Tip
Both these two players hit big, and both are prone to erratic misses. Ferro won their last meeting on home soil at Roland Garros in three sets, but a change of surface tips the odds back in Rybakina’s favor. Looking at the games market could be a smart choice here.
Tip: Over 20.5 games: 1/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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