Donna Vekic will go head to head with the rising Argentinean star Nadia Podoroska in the second round of the 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 Donna Vekic vs Nadia Podoroska match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Donna Vekic vs Nadia Podoroska Head to Head
The players have met just once on the tour, in the Qualifiers of 2016 US Open. Surprisingly, Podoroska beat the then fourth-seed Donna Vekic to reach the main draw at the Flushing Meadows.
Also Read:
Podoroska: A Star in the Making?
Podoroska may not be that well known on the WTA circuit, but there are strong signs that all of it is about to change soon. In 2018, she was ranked outside the top 300 and now, she is World N0. 45 – her career-best singles ranking.
This exponential growth was definitely assisted by her consistent performance on the ITF circuit over the last couple of seasons. Case in point, the 23-year-old has not lost an ITF final since April 2015. She has won 8 titles since and more impressively, 7 of those were in the $25,000 or above tier tournaments.
It was this kind of a tempo that led her to the semifinal of the Roland Garros, all the way as a qualifier. In the preceding low-level events, she had reached the penultimate rounds.
It is definitely a delight to see Podoroska continue this kind of form in 2021. In Yarra Valley Classic last week, the Argentinean made it to the quarterfinal after beating Petra Kvitova earlier. She carried the same momentum to this week too, starting with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Christina Mchale.
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Vekic Finally Gets a Win
Donna Vekic will be more pleased than usual with her Australian Open win in the first round on Tuesday. Her 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Yafan Wang in the opener marked the end to a seemingly-forever long losing streak.
Up until that win, the 24-year-old Croat had featured in 5 different competitions but lost in the first round on all occasions. It was very much the case in 2021 too, in Abu Dhabi and the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne. Vekic lost respectively to Bernarda Pera and Tsvetana Pironkova, admittedly after putting up a fight.
Over the last couple of seasons, Vekic’s form has been in a state of a gradual decline, marked by her slip in the rankings. Once a top 20 player, she is now World No. 33, with her last silverware of any sort coming in 2019 Nottingham Open.
Vekic vs Podoroska Prediction and Tip
Vekic’s game has been going down while Podoroska, in stark contrast, has been growing brilliantly. Both of them have a similar level of experience and are evenly matched for this tie.
That said, we will favour the Argentinean for this match, simply because she is in a better form.
Tip: Podoroska to win: 8/13 (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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