World number 39 and fourth seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, will play the Romanian qualifier, Jaqueline Cristian, ranked 160, in the quarter-final of the 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Open on Friday, March 19. The match is yet to be scheduled. Get the live streaming options of this Svetlana Kuznetsova v Jaqueline Cristian match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Svetlana Kuznetsova v Jaqueline Cristian Head to Head
The pair have never met before. This will be the first match between the 35-year-old Russian and the Romanian, who is 13 years younger than her.
Also Read:
Veteran Kuznetsova Continues to Roll On
Former Grand Slam winner and world number two Kuznetsova is now getting towards the veteran stage of her career, but she can still compete at the top level, even though only played sparingly in 2020.
The number four seed was given a bye in the first round, but then met Zinyu Wang of China, the world 159 on Wednesday.
The first set was a canter for the Russian, as the Chinese teenager seemed overawed by the occasion. Kuznetsova broke her three times, and saved the only point against her own serve.
Wang put up a stiffer fight in the second set, fighting back from a break down to level, and, when the Russian broke her again, she had the character to grab the break back again.
However, with Wang serving to stay in the match, she offered the Russian one more break opportunity and Kuznetsova snapped it up.
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Cristian Shocks Ostapenko
The Romanian had to come through two rounds of qualifying just to earn her place in the main draw, and her reward was a first-round tie with Vera Lapko of Belarus, the world 281.
It was an even contest, with Lapko taking the first set on a tie-break, but Cristian fought back to level, and, she had just forced a break of serve in the third set when her opponent was forced to retire with injury.
Benefitting from that slice of fortune, Cristian then met the number 6 seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, who continues to struggle for form.
The pair swapped early service breaks but then a string of errors by the Latvian enabled Cristian to break and serve out for the set.
The second set was much closer, but Cristian found herself serving for the match. However, she fluffed her lines and it went to a tie-break.
Cristian had three match points, Ostapenko saved them all, and then had a set point of her own. Unfortunately for her she could not take it and, on her fourth match point, the Romanian finally got over the line.
Kuznetsova v Cristian Prediction and Tip
All the odds appeared stacked in Kuznetsova’s favour – ranking, experience, and the fact that she is playing on home soil. It would be a major surprise if the Russian did not win in straight sets.
Tip: Kuznetsova to win in straight sets: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Open will be played from March 14-21. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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