Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic, the number eight seed, will play Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the third round of the 2019 Australian Open.
Watch & bet on Petra Kvitová v Belinda Bencic live in the Australian Open with bet365 here* on Friday, January 18. The Kvitová v Bencic match timings will be updated soon.
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Petra Kvitová – A Player in Form
Petra Kvitová is arguably the player in the top ten who is currently in the best form.
Twice the Wimbledon champion, she is now back to her best, after recovering from the knife attack at her home which threatened to end her career.
She won five WTA Titles last year, and already has one under her belt in 2019, after winning the Sydney International for the second time last week, beating Ashleigh Barty in the final, and defeating Angelique Kerber along the way.
It has been plain sailing for Kvitová so far this week in Melbourne. Slovak Magdalena Rybáriková was beaten 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, whilst she disposed with ease of the challenge of Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the second, 6-1, 6-3.
Her best showing at the Australian Open came in 2012 when she reached the semi-final, but she will think that her chances of going deep into the tournament this time round must be high.
Belinda Bencic – Swiss Number One
Belinda Bencic is currently languishing down the WTA rankings, but the Swiss player should not be underestimated.
The 21-year old reached a career high of world number seven nearly three years ago before loss of form and injury saw her miss parts of the 2016 and following season.
However, she has two senior WTA titles to her name, and reached her first final in two years in Luxembourg in October before losing to Julia Goerges.
She also likes playing in Australia.
She won the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer for Switzerland in 2018, and the pair successfully defended their title earlier this month. She also reached the semi-final of the Hobart International before losing to Anna Karolina Schmiedlová.
Bencic has had a struggle to reach this stage, beating Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the first round and then following that up with another battling win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putinsova 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Kvitová v Bencic Head to Head
The pair have met twice before, and the Swiss player has yet to claim a set off her opponent, although their first meeting came as far back as 2013 at the Toray Pan Pacific Open when Bencic was new on tour.
More recently they played in the Federation Cup last November, with Kvitová easing to a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Kvitová v Bencic – Who will Win?
Kvitová, because of the form she is in, must be regarded as dark horse to win the tournament this year, and it is hard to see Bencic stopping her progress. Kvitova to win in straight sets.
You can watch & bet on Kvitová v Bencic live in the Australian Open with bet365 here on Friday, January 18.
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