World number two Simona Halep takes on the rising star and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open on Friday, February 12, 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 Simona Halep v Veronika Kudermetova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Simona Halep v Veronika Kudermetova Head to Head
Halep and Kudermetova have never played a match against each other before this.
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Halep Comes Back from Clutches of Defeat
It looked all but over for Halep in her second round match against Ajla Tomljanovic when she fell 5-2 behind in the third set after losing her serve to love in the sixth game.
A nervy hold kept Halep in the match but it then needed her to break Tomljanovic in the next game as her opponent looked to serve for the match. Halep broke to 15 but then another close hold followed to level the score at 5-5.
Slowly but surely, the champion player’s confidence had returned while Tomljanovic, from a position of being able to dispose off the world number two in round two, looked flustered. And it showed in her next service game where she managed to stave off three break-points but relentless pressure from Halep rewarded her with an all-important break before the Romanian served it out in the next game.
Earlier, Halep was involved in a fluctuating first set where the two players traded four breaks of serve before the Aussie broke Halep when she was looking to serve to stay in the set at 4-5. Another four breaks of serves followed in the second set too but this time around it was Halep who managed the crucial break in the seventh game before that thrilling final set.
Halep had earlier crushed Lizette Cabrera in the first round in straight sets.
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Kudermetova Squeaks Past Gracheva
Russia’s Kudermetova has hit bit of a purple patch of form in recent times and that has helped her climb up to her career-best ranking of 36th in the world.
The 23-year-old’s only previous appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam came at the 2019 French Open and having never earlier made it past the first round at the Australian Open, this showing this year could help improve on her career-best already, irrespective of how she goes against Halep.
Kuermetova made it to the third round after crushed Marta Kostyuk in the first round but having found difficulties against fellow Russian Varvara Gracheva in their second round match on Wednesday.
Gracheva had a chance to serve out the first set at 5-3, lost her serve only to clinch it when she broke Kudermetova in the 12th game of the set. Kudermetova, however, dug in to her experience from recent times when at the Abu Dhabi Open she had defeated a much higher-ranked Elina Svitolina from such a position and repeated that dose here.
Two breaks of serves in the second set and two more, early in the third, finished off the match for Gracheva as Kudermetova made it her eighth win of the season to the two losses with it.
Halep v Kudermetova Prediction and Tip
On recent form, this could be a tighter match than the rankings indicate. Halep has fumbled a tad while Kudermetova has shown signs of finding a breakthrough year, which could suggest we might be looking at another three-setter.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (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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