Defending champion and USA’s Sofia Kenin will be up against in-form Kaia Kanepi in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open on Thursday, February 11, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Sofia Kenin v Kaia Kanepi match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sofia Kenin v Kaia Kanepi Head to Head
In their only previous outing before this, Kanepi overcame Kenin at the Italian Open of 2018, coming back from a set down to usurp the American in a qualifying match.
Also Read:
Kenin Overcomes Poor Leadup Form in Opener
An injury to Kenin on her upper leg in the lead-up to the Australian Open made it difficult for her during the tune-up tournaments, but the good news for her is she started off title defence of the year’s first major with a straight-set win.
Playing the world number 133 Maddison Inglis in her opener, Kenin took time to get going and looked scratchy at best but still registered a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the first round.
A drop of serve in the fourth game of the opening set was followed by Kenin breaking back immediately, but the two continued to hold on to their serves after that. Then, in the 11th game, Kenin got another break-point which she converted before serving it out.
In the second set, it was Kenin who drew first blood only for Inglis to retaliate and level the score at 3-3. Only a game later, however, Kenin got another break-point which she immediately converted and while she later faced another break-point while serving for the match, the American staved it off before finishing the match.
She now takes on an in-form and experienced world number 65.
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Kanepi Moves to 5-1 This Season
While Kanepi didn’t play a lot of matches at the highest level of the game in 2020, she did manage a few wins on the ITF circuit. After falling in the second round at the US Open and French Open, the Estonian featured in four ITF tournaments, and went on to clinch three of those titles.
What that meant was that while the competition there had been of a slightly lower quality, the 35-year-old Kanepi came into the new season brimming with confidence. And that showed in her performances in the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne, where she shocked Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina and Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the final.
While she lost to Elise Mertens there, the Estonian took that form into her opener against Anastasija Sevastova, carving out a crushing 6-3, 6-1 win to move into round two.
Kenin v Kanepi Prediction and Tip
Kenin’s the favourite but she will be wary of Kanepi’s resurgence and her own fitness concerns. We think this will have Kanepi grabbing at least a set off the American.
Tip: Kanepi to win a set – Yes: 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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