Defending champion Ashleigh Barty of Australia will take on fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the semifinal of the Miami Open on Thursday, April 1. Get the live streaming options of this Ash Barty v Elina Svitolina match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to watch 2021 Miami Open live streaming online?
- For tennis fans in the UK, Europe, Australia & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here* to watch & bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Get all the other Miami Open 2021 live streaming options here
[the_ad id=”14063″]
*Advertisement. Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Ash Barty v Elina Svitolina Head to Head
They have met six times before and Svitolina has dominated the rivalry, winning on five occasions. However, she lost the latest contest between the two, going down to Barty in straight sets in the final of the WTA Finals in 2019.
In their earlier meetings, the Ukrainian defeated Barty at the Fed Cup, Wimbledon and the Beijing Open in 2017, in Miami in 2018 and at Indian Wells in 2019.
Also Read:
Barty Battles Past Sabalenka
Top seed Ashleigh Barty edged out seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling quarterfinal of the Miami Open on Tuesday.
The World No. 1, who needed three sets to win her fourth round match against Victoria Azarenka, was forced to a third set yet again by the determined Belarusian. But the Aussie saw off the threat in third to win only the second time against the World No. 8, who still leads the head-to-head rivalry 3-2.
The two hour and 16 minutes quarterfinal on Tuesday saw Barty save all seven of her break points, while she broke Sabalenka twice from four break point opportunities.
Improving to 12-2 this year, the Aussie has now won 10 matches in a row in Miami.
The 24-year-old, who faced shock defeats to Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and to Danielle Collins in the Round of 16 of the Adelaide International earlier this year, began the season by winning the Yarra Valley Classic for her ninth career title.
Coming to Miami as the defending champion, the 2019 French Open champion defeated Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the Round of 64. She had an easy third round outing against Jelena Ostapenko, beating the Latvian 6-3, 6-2, before holding off Victoria Azarenka for a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win in the fourth round.
[the_ad id=”30344″]
Svitolina Storms Into Semis
Facing Barty in the semifinal will be Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who eased past Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in a quarterfinal on Tuesday.
The fifth seed needed just 69 minutes to dispatch the unseeded Latvian 6-3, 6-2. The win improved Svitolina to 13-5 this year.
The 2018 WTA Finals champion, who lost in three quarterfinals this year, went past the last eight for the first time this season to reach her first semifinal in Miami.
A 15-time winner on the Tour, Svitolina, who has four WTA 1000 titles, began the Miami Open campaign with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over the United States’ Shelby Rogers. She had a relatively easy third round match against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, beating the 30th seed 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.
In the fourth round, the 26-year-old had to dig deep once again, as she rallied from a set down to defeat ninth seed Petra Kvitova 2-6, 7-5, 7-5.
On Tuesday, Svitolina dominated the contest against Sevastova, striking 19 winners and converting six of seven break points. The World No. 5 won 67% of points on Sevastova’s serves.
Barty v Svitolina Prediction and Tip
It’s going to be a cracking contest between two high-quality players. Having reached the semifinal Barty has closed in on keeping the No. 1 ranking. However, if she falls to Svitolina on Thursday and Naomi Osaka goes on to win the title, the Aussie will lose the top spot to the Japanese. So the stakes are high for Barty, and she will aim to reach the final to extend her stay on the top.
But Svitolina is in great touch and has dominated their rivalry so far and will be eager to win a sixth time against Barty. Expect a close contest with the third set deciding the winner.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The 2021 Miami Open will be played from March 22 to April 4. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment